
lass V.\ (\?>0 




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PRESEIS'TKU BT 




Invasion of Julius Caesar. 




Vortigern and Rowena. 



/Ud-/-^' y^>^^^ ^^^^^ /ej y 

HUME AND SMOLLET'S/ 

CELEBRATED 

BISTORT OF ENGLAND, 

FROM ITS FIRST SETTLEMENT TO THE TEAR 1760. 

ACCURATELY AND IMPARTIALLY ABRIDGED. 

AND A CONTINUATION FROM THAT PERIOD 

STo tfie Coronatton of 

GEORGE IV., JUI.7 Id, 1821. 

Embracing a period of nearly Two Thousand Years. 



BY REV. JOHN ROBINSON, D. D. 

Author of a Grammar of History^ Archoeologia Grceca, Ancient 
and Modern History for the Use of Schootsy and a Theolo- 
gical Dictionary. 



ILLUSTRATED BY TWENTY-FOUR PAGES OF ENGRAYINC 
TOGETHER WITH AN 

APPENDIX, 

CONTAINING 

THE SUCCESSION OF SOVEREIGNS EMINENT AND REMARKABLE 

PERSONS WHO HAVE FLOURISHED IN BRITAIN BATTLES IN 

ENGLISH HISTORY, BY SEA AND LAND, FROM 1588 TO 
1806 IMPROVEMENTS AND INVENTIONS DISCOV- 
ERIES AND SETTLING OF BRITISH COLONIES. 



NEW-YORK ; 
PUBLISHED FOR SUBSCRIBERS. 

1826.* 



■^.^3 



'Gift 
Dr. H' N. Fowter 
Mav 16 1934 



^ 



/ 

PREFACE* 



4^7f 



The foilovving Work claims no higher merit than 
that of being a faithful abi idgtnent of Hume and 
Smollet's Histories of England, with a continuation 
from authentic documents of events between the 
year 1760 and the coronation of George the Fourth. 
The author hopes that the whole will prove useful 
as a manual to juvenile students, for whom it is 
chiefly designed. ^/ i' 

The necessity of acquiring knowledge of the his- 
tory of our own country, and of pubhc events in 
w^hich Great Britain has participated, is so obvious, 
as to render it unnecessary to prove, that the history 
of their own country is a study which no British 
youth of either sex ought to neglect. 

The author has endeavoured to devest himself of 
all party spirit, and, in recording the successive facts, 
he has allowed no prejudices ofhisownto intermin- 
gle with the narration. Truth, and the principles 
of the British Constitution, have been the standards 
by which his labours and sentiments have uniformly 
been guided. 

The History of Mr. Hume having obtained an 
unrivalled degree of literary precedency, and that 
of Dr. Smollet having been generally recognised as 
a worthy continuation from the Revolution to the 
demise of George II., it is reasonable that a succinct 
compression of these standard national works should 
be preferred to all others for purposes of education. 
But the design would have been incomplete without 
a continuation to the present age ; and, though the 
author is aware of the delicate responsibihty of be- 



ly PREFACE. 

coming a contemporary historian, yet, as the duty 
became necessary, he has endeavoured to perform 
it with care and fidehty. 

The Tables and Facts contained in the Appendix 
form new features of such a w ork as the present ; 
but they furnish data, from which the student will 
be able to draw many valuable conclusions, and 
will tend to illustrate and corroborate many details 
in the text of the History. 



To his Sons, William Richardson Robinson, and 
Matthew Wilkinson Robinson, 

THIS VOLUME OF ENGLISH HISTORY 

IS SPECIALLY INSCRIBED, BY THEIR AFFECTIONATE FATHEIt 



Clifton Rectory^ near Penrith^ 
March 15, 1823. 



1* 



THE 

HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

CHAP. I. 

The Britons — Romans — Saxons — The Heptarchy. 

All ancient writers agree in representing the first in- 
habitants of Britain as a tribe of the Gauls or Celts, who 
peopled that island from the neighbouring continent. Their 
language was the same — their manners, their government, 
their superstition ; varied only by those small differences, 
•which time, or a communication with the bordering na- 
tions, must necessarily introduce. The inhabitants of 
Gaul, especially in those parts which lie contiguous to 
Italy, had acquired, from a commerce with their southern 
neighbours, some refinement in the arts, which gradually 
diflfused themselves northward, and spread only a very 
faint light over this island. The Greek and Roman navi- 
gators or merchants, gave the most shocking accounts of 
the ferocity of the people, which they magnified, as usual, 
in order to excite the admiration of their countrymen. 
However, the south-east parts of Britain had already, be- 
fore the age of CsBsar, made the first and most requisite 
step towards a civil settlement ; and the Britons, by tillage 
and agriculture, had there increased to a great multitude. 
The other inhabitants of the island still maintained them- 
selves by pasture. They were clothed with skins of beasts. 
They dwelt in huts that they reared in the forests and 
marshes, with which the country was covered. They easi- 
ly removed their habitation, when actuated either by the 
hopes of plunder, or the fear of an enemy. The conven- 
ience of feeding their cattle was even a sufficient motive 
for removing their dwellings ; and, as they were ignorant 
of all the refinements of life, their wants ^nd their pos- 
sessions were equally limited and scanty. 




2 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

The Britons were divided into many small nations or 
tribes ; and, being a military people, whose sole property 
was their arms and their cattle, it was impossible, after 
they had acquired a relish of liberty, for their princes or 
chieftains to establish any despotic authority over them. 
Their governments, though monarchical, were free ; and 
the common people seem to have enjoyed even more liber- 
ty among them, than among the nations of Gaul, from 
whom they were descended. Each state was divided into 
factions within itself. It was agitated with jealousy or an- 
imosity against the neighbouring states ; and while the arts 
of peace were yet unknown, wars were the chief occupa- 
tion, and formed the chief object of ambition among the 
people. 

The religion of the Britons was one of the most consid- 
erable parts of their government ; and the Druids, who 
were their priests, possessed great authority. They en- 
joyed an immunity from wars and taxes. They possessed 
both the civil and criminal jurisdiction. They decided all 
controversies among states, as well as among private per- 
sons ; and whoever refused to submit to their decree, 
was exposed to the most severe penalties. Thus the bands 
of government, which were naturally loose among that rude 
and turbulent people, were happily corroborated by the 
terrors of their superstition. No species of superstition was 
ever more terrible than that of the Druids. Besides the 
severe penalties which it was in their power to inflict in 
this world, they inculcated the eternal transmigration of 
souls, and thereby extended their authority as far as the 
fears of their votaries. Human sacrifices were practised 
among them. The spoils of war were often devoted to 
their divinities ; and they punished with the severest tor- 
tures those who dared to secrete any part of the conse- 
crated offering. These treasures they kept in woods and 
forests, secured by no other guard than the terrors of their 
religion ; and, this steady conquest over human cupidity 
may be regarded as more signal than their prompting men 
to the most extraordinary and most violent efforts. No 
idolatrous worship ever attained such an ascendancy over 
mankind, as that of the ancient Gauls and Britons. 

The Britons had long remained in this rude and inde- 
pendent state, when Caesar, having overrun all Gaul by 
his victories, and being ambitious of carrying the Roman 



THE BRITONS. 3 

arms into a new world, then mostly unknown, took advan- 
tage of a short interval in his Gaulic wars, and invaded 
Britain. The natives, informed of his intention, were sen- 
sible of the unequal contest, and endeavoured to appease 
him by submissions ; but these retarded not the execution 
of his design. After some resistance, Caesar land- 
ed, as is supposed, at Deal ; and having obtained '_ ^ * 
several advantages over the Britons, and obliged 
them to promise hostages for their future obedience, he 
was constrained, by the necessity of his affairs, and the 
approach of winter, to withdraw his forces into Gaul. The 
Britons, relieved from the terror of his arms, neglected 
the performance of their stipulations ; and that haughty 
conqueror resolved next summer to chastise them for this 
breach of treaty. He landed with a greater force ; and 
though he found a more regular resistance from the Bri- 
tons, who had united under Cassivelaunus, one of their 
petty princes, he discomfited them in every action. He 
advanced into the country ; passed the Thames in the face 
of the enemy ; took and burned the capital of Cassivelau- 
nus ; estabhshed his ally, Mandubratius, in the sovereign- 
ty of the Trinobantes ; and having obliged the inhabitants 
to make him new submissions, he again returned with his 
army into Gaul, and left the authority of the Romans 
more nominal than real in this island. 

The civil wars which ensued saved the Britons from that 
yoke which was ready to be imposed upon them. Augus- 
tus, the successor of CjEsar, content with the victory ob- 
tained over the liberties of his own country, was little 
ambitious of acquiring fame by foreign wars. Tiberius, 
zealous of the fame which might be acquired by his gene- 
rals, made this advice of Augustus a pretence for his in- 
activity. The mad sallies of Cahgula, in which he me- 
naced Britain with an invasion, served only to expose him- 
self and the empire to ridicule ; and the Britons, during 
almost a century, enjoyed their liberty unmolested. In 
the reign of Claudius, the Romans began to think seriously 
of reducing them under their dominion. Without seeking 
any justifiable reason of hostility, they sent over 
an army under the command of Plan tins, an able ^* J' 
general, who gained some victories, and made a 
considerable progress in subduing the inhabitants. Clau- 



4 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

dius himself, finding matters sufficiently prepared for his 
reception, made a journey into Britain, and received the 
submission of several British states, the Cantii, Atrebates, 
Regni, and Trinobantes, who inhabited the south-east 
parts of the island. The other Britons, under the com- 
mand of Caractacus, still maintained an obstinate resist- 
ance ; and the Romans made little progress against them, 
till Ostorius Scapula was sent over to command their 
armies. This general advanced the Roman con- 

A. D 

i^ ' quests over the Britons ; pierced into the country 
of the Silures, a warlike nation, who inhabited the 
banks of the Severn ; defeated Caractacus in a great bat- 
tle ; took him prisoner, and sent him to Rome, where his 
magnanimous behaviour procured him better treatment 
than the Romans usually bestowed on captive princes. 

Notwithstanding these misfortunes, the spirit of the 
Britons was not subdued. In the reign of Nero, Sueto- 
nius Paulinus was invested with the command, and pene- 
trated into the island of Mona, now Anglesey, the chief 
seat t)f the Druids. He drove the Britons off the field, 
burned the Druids in those fires which the priests had 
prepared for their captive enemies, and destroyed all the 
consecrated groves and altars. Having thus triumphed 
over the religion of the Britons, Suetonius expected that 
his future progress would be easy, in reducing the people 
to subjection. But the Britons, headed by Boadicea, queen 
of the Icena, who had been treated in the most ignomi- 
nious manner by the Roman tribunes, attacked with suc- 
cess several settlements of their insulting conquerors. 
London, which was already a flourishing Roman colony, 
was reduced to ashes ; and the Romans and all strangers, 
to the number of seventy thousand, were massacred by the 
exasperated natives. Their fate, however, was soon af- 
ter avenged by Suetonius, in a bloody and decisive battle, 
in which eighty thousand Britons are said to have perish- 
ed ; and Boadicea, rather than submit to the victor, put 
an end to her life by poison. 

Julius Agricola, who governed Britain in the reigns of 

Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian, formed a regular 

35 * pl^^ for subduing this island, and rende ring the 

acquisition useful to the conquerors. He carried 

his victorious arms northwards ; defeated the Britons in 



THE ROMANS. 5 

every encounter ; pierced the forests and mountains of 
Caledonia ; and reduced every state to subjection in the 
southern parts of the island. Having fixed a chain of 
forts between the friths of Clyde and Forth, he secured 
the Roman province from the incursions of its ferocious 
neighbours. 

During these military enterprises, Agricola did not neg- 
lect the arts of peace. He introduced laws and arts 
among the Britons ; taught them to value the conven- 
iences of life ; reconciled them to the Roman language 
and manners ; instructed them in letters and science ; 
and endeavoured to render their chains easy. By this 
conduct, the inhabitants gradually acquiesced in the do- 
minion of their masters. 

To secure the Roman province from the irruptions of 
the Caledonians, Adrian built a rampart between the river 
Tyne and the frith of Solway : this was strengthened with 
new fortifications by Severus ; and during the reigns of 
the other Roman emperors, such a profound tranquillity 
prevailed in Britain, that httle mention is made of the 
affairs of that island by any historian. The natives, dis- 
armed, dispirited, and submissive, had lost even the idea 
of their former independence. 

But the Roman empire, which had diffused slavery and 
oppression, together with a knowledge of the arts, over a 
considerable part of the globe, approached its dissolution. 
Italy, and the centre of the empire, removed, during so 
many ages, from all concern in the wars, had entirely lost 
its mihtary spirit, and were peopled by an enervated race, 
equally ready to submit to a foreign yoke, or to the ty- 
ranny of their own rulers. The northern barbarians assail- 
ed all the frontiers of the Roman empire. Instead of arm- 
ing the people in their own defence, the emperors recalled 
all the distant legions, in whom alone they could repose 
confidence. Britain being a remote province, and not much 
valued by the Romans, the legions that defended it were 
employed in the protection of Italy and Gaul ; and that 
island, secured by the sea against the inroads of the greater 
tribes of barbarians, found enemies on its frontiers, ready 
to take advantage of its defenceless situation. J he Picts. 
who were a tribe of the British race driven northwards by 
the arms of Agricola, and the Scots, who were supposed 



6 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

to have migrated from Ireland, pierced the rampart of 
Adrian, no longer defended by the Roman arms, and ex- 
tended their ravages over the fairest part of the country. 
The Romans, reduced to extremities at home, and fatigued 
with distant expeditions, informed the Britons that they 
musl no longer look on them for succour ; exhorted them 
to arm in their ovirn defence ; and urged them to protect 
by their valour their ancient independence. Accordingly, 
the Romans took a final adieu of liritain, after having been 
masters of the best portion of it nearly four centuries. 
The abject Britons of the south, unaccustomed to the 
perils of war and the cares of civil government, 
^\ o * found themselves incapable of resisting the incur- 
sions of their fierce and savage neighbours. The 
Picts and Scots now regarded the whole of Britain as their 
prey ; and the ramparts of the northern wall proved only 
a weak defence against the attacks of those barbarians. 
The Britons in vam implored the assistance of the Romans, 
in an epistle to ^Etius the patrician, which was inscribed 
** The Groans of the Britons." The tenor of the epistle 
was suitable to the superscription: "The barbarians," 
say they, " on the one hand drive us into the sea, the 
sea, on the other, throws us back on the barbarians ; and 
we have only the hard choice left us of perishing by the 
sword or by the waves." The Romans, however, at this 
time pressed by Attila, the most terrible enemy that ever 
assailed the empire, were unable to attend to the com- 
plaints of their allies. The Britons, reduced to despair, 
and attending only to the suggestions of their own fears, 
and to the counsels of Vortigern, the powerful prince of 
Dumnonium, rashly invited the protection of the Saxons. 
The Saxons had been for some time regarded as one 
of the most warlike tribes of Germany, and had 
44.q' become the terror of the neighbouring nations. 
They had spread themselves from the northern 
parts of Germany, and had taken possession of all the sea- 
coast from the mouth of the Rhine to Jutland. Hengist 
and Horsa, two brothers, who were the reputed descend- 
ants ot the god Woden, commanded the Saxons at this 
period. These leaders easily persuaded their countrymen 
to accept of the invitation of the Britons, and to embrace 
an enterprise in which they might display their valour and 



THE SAXONS. T 

gratify their desire of plunder. They emharked their 
troops in three vessels, and transported to the shores of 
Britain sixteen hundred men, who landed in the isle of 
Thanet, and attacked with confidence and success the 
northern invaders. 

Hengist and Horsa, perceiving, from their easy victory 
over the Scots and Picts, with what facility they might 
subdue the Britons themselves, determined to fight and 
conquer for their own grandeur, and not for the defence 
of their allies. They sent intelligence to Saxony of the 
riches and fertility of Britain ; and their representations 
procured for them a re-enforcement of five thousand men. 
The Saxons formed an alliance with the Picts and Scots, 
whom they had been invited to resist, and proceeded to 
open hostility against the English, whom they had enga- 
ged to protect. 

The Britons, roused to indignation against their trea- 
cherous allies, took up arms ; and having deposed Vorti- 
gern, who had become odious for his vices, and for the 
bad success of his counsels, they put themselves under 
the command of his son Vortimer. They ventured to 
meet their perfidious enemies, and though generally de- 
feated, one battle was distinguished by the death of Hor- 
sa, who left the sole command in the hands of his brother^ 
Hengist. This active general, re-enforced by his country- 
men, still advanced to victory ; and being chiefly anxious 
to spread the terror of his arms, he spared neither age, 
sex, nor condition. Great numbers of Britons, to avoid 
his cruelty or avarice, deserted their native country, and 
passed over to the continent, r/here, in the province of 
Armorica, they were received by a people of the same lan- 
guage and manners, and gave to the country the name of 
Brittany. 

The British writers say, that the love of Vorfigern for^^ 
Rowena, the daughter of Hengist, was one cause that 
facilitated the entrance of the Saxons into this island ; 
and that Vortigern, who had been restored to the throne, 
accepted of a banquet from Hengist at Stonehenge, where 
three hundred of his nobility were treacherously slaugh* 
tered, and himself detained a captive. But these ac- 
counts are not sufficiently corroborated. 

After the death of Vortimer, Ambrosius was invested 



8 tilSTORY OP EN6LAND. 

with the supreme command over the Britons, aad united 
them in their resistance to the Saxons. Hengist, however, 
maintained his ground in Britain. He invited into this 
islsnd another tribe of Saxons, under the command of his 
brother Octa, and of Ebissa, the son of Octa, whom he 
settled in Northumberland ; and he founded the kingdom 
QfJK.ent, comprehending Kent, Middlesex, Essex, and 
part of Surry, which he bequeathed to his posterity. 

The success of Hengist allured new swarms from the 
northern coasts of Germany. The southern Britons gra- 
dually receded before the invaders, into Cornwall and 
Wales ; and iElla, a Saxon chief, founded the kingdom 
of South Saxony, comprising Sussex and that portion of 
Surry which Hengist had not occupied. 

The kingdom of the West Saxons, or of Wessex, was 
founded by Cerdic, and his sonKenric, in Hampshire, Dor- 
setshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire, and the Isle of Wight ; but 
it was not till after many a bloody conflict, that these ad- 
venturers enjoyed in peace the harvest of their toils. They 
were opposed by Arthur, prince of the Silures, whose he- 
roic valour suspended the declining fate of his country, 
and whose name has been celebrated by Taliesin and the 
other British bards. The military achievements of this 
prince have been blended with fiction : but it appears from 
incontestible evidence, that both in personal and mental 
powers, he excelled the generality of mankind. 

Whilst the Saxons thus established themselves in the 
south, great numbers of their countrymen, under several 
leaders, landed on the east coast of Britain. In the year 
575, Uffa assumed the title of king of the East Angles ; 
in 585, Crida, that of Mercia ; and, about the same time, 
Erkenwint, that of the East Saxons. This latter kingdom 
was dismemUered from that of Kent, and comprehended 
Essex, Middlesex, and part of Hertfordshire ; that of the 
East Angles, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, and Norfolk ; Mer- 
cia was extended over all the middle countries, from the 
banks of the Severn to the frontiers of those two kingdoms. 
Though the Saxons had been settled in Northumberland 
soon after tlie landing of Hengist, yet they met with so 
much opposition from the inhabitants, that none of their 
princes for a long time assumed the appellation of king, 
in 547, Ida, a Saxon prince, who boasted his descent from 



THE HEPTARCHY. - '^ 

Woden, and wlio had brought other re-enforcements from 
Germany, subdued all Northumberland, the bishopric of 
Durham, and some of the south-east counties of Scotland, 
About the same time, iElla, another Saxon prince, having 
conquered Lancashire, and the greater part of Yorkshire, 
received the appellation of king of Deira. These two 
kingdoms were united in the person of Ethelfrid, grand- 
son of Ida, who married Acca, the daughter of ^lla ; and 
expelling his brother-in-law, Edwin, he assumed the title 
of king of Northumberland. 

Thus was estabhshed, after a violent contest of nearly 
a hundred and fifty years, the Heptarchy, or seven Saxon 
kingdoms, in Britain ; under which the whole southern 
part of the island, except Wales and Cornwall, in a great 
measure mixed its inhabitants, and changed its language, 
customs, and political institutions. The Britons, under the 
Roman dominion, had made such progress in the arts and 
civihzation, that Ihey had built twenty-eight considerable 
cities, besides a great number of villages and country- 
seats ; but the Saxons, by whom they were subdued, re- 
stored the ancient barbarity, and reduced to the most ab- 
ject slavery those few natives who were not either massa- 
cred, or expelled their habitations. 

After the Britons were confined to Cornwall and Wales, 
and no longer disturbed the conquerors, the alliance be- 
tween the princes of the Heptarchy was in a great mea- 
sure dissolved. Dissentions, wars, and revolutions among 
themselves, were the natural consequence. At length, 
nearly four hundred years after the first arrival of the 
Saxons in Britain, all the kingdoms of the Heptar- 
chy were united in one great state, under Egbert, a. d. 
whose prudence and policy effected what had been 827. 
often in vain attempted. His territories were nearly 
of the same extent with what is now properly called Eng- 
land ; and prospects of peace, security, and increasing 
refinement, were thus afforded. 

The Saxons at this period seem not to have much ex- 
celled their German ancestors in arts, civilization, humaa- 
ity, justice, or obedience to the laws. Christianity had 
not hitherto banished their ignorance, nor softened the 
ferocity of their manners ; credulity and superstition had 
accompanied the doctrines received through the corrupteil 



10 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

channels of Rome ; and the reverence towards saints and 
rehques seems almost to have supplanted the adoration of 
the Supreme Being. Monastic observances v/ere esteem- 
ed more meritorious than the active virtues ; the univer- 
sal belief in miraculous interpositions superseded the 
knowledge of natural causes ; and bounty to the church 
atoned for every violence against society. The sacerdotal 
habit was the only object of respect. Hence the nobility 
preferred the security and sloth of the cloister to the tu- 
mult and glory of war, and endowed monasteries of which 
they assumed the government. Hence also the kings, im- 
poverished by continual benefactions to the church, were 
neither able to bestow rewards on valour or military ser- 
vices, nor retained sufficient influence to support their 
government. 

Another inconvenience which attended this corrupt spe^ 
cies of Christianity, was the superstitious attachment to 
Rome. The Saxons were taught by the Monks a profound 
reverence for the holy see ; and kings, abdicating their 
crowns, sought a secure passport to heaven at the feet of the 
Roman pontiff. The successors of St. Peter, encouraged 
by the blindness and submissive disposition of the people, 
advanced every day in their encroachments on the inde- 
pendence of the English church. In the eight century, 
Wilfrid, bishop of Lindisferne, the sole prelate of the 
Northumbrian kingdom, increased this subjection by an ap- 
peal to Rome against the decisions of an English synod. 
Wilfrid thus laid the foundation of the papal pretensions, 
which we shall find in the sequel were carried to the most 
disgraceful heights, and submitted to with a patience al- 
most incredible. 

CHAP. n. 

From the Union of the Kingdoms of the Heptarchy under 
Egbert^ to the Norman Conquest. 
The kingdoms of the Heptarchy appeared to be firmly 
united in one state under Egbert ; and this union 
097 * promised future tranquillity to the inhabitants of 
* Britain. But these flattering hopes were soon over- 
cast by the appearance of the Danes. The emperor Char- 
lemagne had been induced to exercise great severities in 
Germany ; and the more warlike of the natives, to escape 



EGBERT. — ETHELWOLP. 1 1 

ihe fury of hia persecutions, had retired into Jutland, 
From that northern extremity they invaded France, which 
was exposed by the dissentions of the posterity of Char- 
lemagne. Designated by the general name of Normans, 
which they received from their northern situation, they 
became a terror to the tnHr.timc , and even to the inland 
countries. In their predatory excurisons they were tempted 
to visit England, ami in their hostilities made no 
distinction between the French and l<^ngHsh na- „g„ ' 
tions. After an unsuccessful aUeniut on Northum- 
berland, they landed on the isle of v- hepey, which they 
plundered with impunity. The next year they disem- 
barked in Dorsetshire from thir y-five ships, and were 
encountered by Egbert at Ciiaimoiith, where the Danes 
were defeated with great loss. i'hey afterwards entered 
into an alliance with the Britons of (.'ornvvail, and, in 
conjunction with their allies, made an inroad into Devon- 
shire, where they were met at Hmjesdown by Egbert, 
and overthrown with considerable sliughter. The death 
of Egbert, whose prudence a, id valour had rendered him 
a terror to his enemies, revived the hopes of the DaneS; 
and prompted them to new efforts. 

Ethelwolf, the son and successor of Egbert, pos- 
sessed neither the abilites nor the bravery of his ^.'^p * 
father ; he was better qualiried for a cloister than a 
throne. He conunenced his retgn with resigning to his 
eldest son, Athelstan, the provinces of Essex, Kent, and 
Sussex. The domestic dissentions which this partition was 
calculated to occasion was prevented by the terror excited 
by the Danes, whose inroads v.'ere felt through Hamp- 
shire, Suffolk, Norfolk, and Kent. In their course they 
carried off the goods, the catUe, and even the wretched 
inhabitants ; and then retiring to their vessels, they set 
sail to some distant quarter which was not prepared for 
their reception. Though often repulsed, and sometimes 
defeated, yet they could not be expelled. They established 
themselves in the isles of Thanet and Shepey, whence 
they constantly harassed and ravdg€ rl ihe adjacent coasts. 

The unsettled state of England did not prevent Ethel- 
wolf from making a pilgrimage to Rome, whither he carried 
his fourth and favourite son, Alf'-ed, then only six years 
©f age. He passed a twelvemouth at Rome in exercises 
©f devotion, and failed not in liberality to the church. In 

2 * 



12 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

his return home, he married Judith, the daughter of th^ 
emperor Charles the bald ; but on his landing in England ^ 
he met with an opposition which he little expected. Athel- 
Stan, his eldest son, had paid the debt of nature ; Ethel" 
bald, his second, who had assumed the government, 
formed the project of excluding his father from a throne, 
for which his weakness and superstition little qualified 
him. Ethelwolf yielded in a great measure to the pre>- 
tensions of his son : he retained the eastern, which were 
the least considerable, and ceded to Ethelbald the sove- 
reignty of the western districts of the kingdom. Imme- 
diately after, he summoned the states of the whole king- 
dom, and, with the same facility of disposition, not only 
granted to the priesthood a perpetual right to tithes, but 
exempted it from all imposts and burdens. 

Ethelwolf lived only two years after conferring this im- 
portant grant to the church. By his will he divided 
J~^ * England between his two eldest sons, Ethelbald 
and Ethelbert ; the west being assigned to the 
former, and the east to the latter. Ethelbald was a pro« 
fligate prince, who married. Judith, his mother-in-law, and 
whose reign was short. His death united the whole go- 
vernment in the hands of Ethelbert, who during five years, 
reigned with justice and prudence, and bequeathed the 
sceptre to his brother Ethered. 

-Though Ethered defended himself with great bravery, 
yet, during the whole of his reign, he enjoyed no 
onr^ ' tranquillity from the Danes, who landed in East 
Anglia, penetrated into the kingdom of Northum- 
berland, and seized the city of York. Alfred, the younger 
brother, assisted Ethered in all his enterprises against the 
enemy. The Danes were attacked by the forces under 
Ethered and Alfred ; and being defeated in an action, 
they sought shelter within the walls of Reading. Thence 
they infested the neighbouring country. An action seen 
after ensued at Aston, in Berkshire, where the Enghsb, 
through the good conduct of Alfred, obtained a victory. 
Another battle was fought at Basing, where the Danes 
were more successful. Amidst these disorders, Ethered 
died of a wound which he had received, and transferred 
his kingdom and the care of its defence to the illustriousi. 
Alfred, who was then twenty-two years of age. 
Atfred gave early proof of his abihties, by which, in the 



ALFRED. 13* 

inbst difficult times, he saved his country from ruin. 
Pope Leo the Third predicted his future great- a. ». 
tiess, by giving him the royal unction, when Al- 871* 
fred was on a visit to the Roman pontiff. Being in- 
dulged in youthful pleasures, his education was mucli 
neglected ; but the recital of some Saxon poems awaken- 
ed his native genius ; and he applied himself with dlHgence 
and success to the study of the Latin tongue. From these 
elegant pursuits, however, he was early recalled by the 
danger of his country. Scarcely had he buried his bro- 
ther, when he was obliged to take the field, in order t# 
oppose the Danes, who had seized Wilton,* and were ra*- 
vaging the surrounding country. He gave them battle, 
and was at first successful ; but pursuing his advantage 
too eagerly, he was oppressed by the superiority of num- 
bers, and obliged to relinquish the field. Alfred, however, 
was still formidable ; and though he was supported only 
by the West Saxons, he obliged his enemies to conclude 
a treaty, in which they solemnly swore to evacuate his ter- 
ritories. The oath was taken and violated with equal fa- 
cility ; and the Danes, without seeking any pretence, at- 
tacked Alfred's army, which they routed, and, marching 
westward, took possession of Exeter. Alfred collected 
new forces, and exerted such vigour, that he fought eight 
battles in one year, and obliged the enemy to engage that 
they would settle in some part of England, and not suffer 
more of their countrymen to enter the kingdom. Whilst 
Alfred expected the execution of this treaty, another body 
of Danes landed in this island ; and collecting all the 
scattered troops of their countrymen, they seized Chip- 
penham, and extended their ravages over Wiltshire. 

This last event broke the spirits of the Saxons, and 
reduced them to despair. They believed themselves 
abandoned by Heaven to destruction. Some left their 
country, and retired into Wales, or fled beyond the sea ^ 
others submitted to the conquerors, in hopes of appeasing 
their fury by a servile obedience ; and Alfred was obliged 
to relinquish the ensigns of royalty, and to seek shelter in 
the meanest disguises, from the pursuit of his enemies. 
He concealed himself under the habit of a peasant, and fjer 

"**' The real siiuatien of Wiltcn has been much dispute^> 



14 HISTORY ©P ENGLAND. 

some time lived in the house of a neatherd, who had for- 
merly been entrusted with the care of his cows, in this 
humihating situation, it is said that the wife of the neat- 
herd, ignorant of the condition of her royal guest, and 
observing him one day busy by the fire-side, in trimming 
his bow and arrows, desired him to take care of some 
cakes which were toasting, while she was employed in 
other domestic concerns. However, Alfred, whose 
thoughts were dilFerently engaged, forgot the trust ; and 
the good woman, on her return, finding her cakes burnt, 
rated the king very severely, and upraided him with neg- 
lecting what he was ready enougli to eat. 

Alfred, finding that success bad rendered his enemies 
more remiss, collected some of his retainers. In the centre 
of a bog, formed by the stagnated waters of the Thone and 
Parret, in Somersetshire, he found two acres of firm 
CTvound, where he built an habitation, which he rendered 
secure by fortifications, and soil more by the unknown 
and inaccessible roads that led to it. This place he cal- 
led iEthelingay, or the Isle of Nobles ; and thence he 
made frequent and unexpected sallies on the Danes, who 
often felt the vigour of his arm, but knew not from what 
quarter the blow came. In tins insulated place he was 
informed that Oddune, earl of Devonshire, had routed 
and killed Hubba the Dane, who had besieged him in his 
castle of Kinwith, near the mouth of the river Tau ; and 
that he had got possession of the enchanted standard, or 
reafen, so called from containing the figure of a raven^ 
which the Danes believed to have been interwoven by the 
three sisters of Hingaar and Hubba, with magical incan- 
tations, and to express by the motions of its wings the 
success or failure of any enterprise. 

When Alfred was informed of this successful resist- 
ance, he left his retreat ; but before he would assemble his 
subjects in arms, he resolved to inspect the situation of 
the enemy. Under the disguise of a harper, he entered 
their camp ; his music obtamed for him a welcome recep- 
tion, and introduced him into the tent of their prince Gu- 
Ihrum ; and he was witness during several days to the su- 
pine security of the Danes, and their contempt to the Eng- 
lish. Encouraged by what he observed, he sent private em- 
jfojssarie^ t9 the most considerable of his friejids, and sum- 



ALFRED. 15 

moned them to meet him with their followers at Brixton, on 
the borders of Selwood Forest. The English having expe- 
rienced that submission only increased the insolence and 
rapacity of their conquerors, repaired to the place of ren- 
dezvous with alacrity, and received with shouts of trans- 
port a monarch whom they had fondly lo\ed, and whom 
they had long concluded to have been dead. Alfred im- 
mediately led them against the Danes, who, surprised to 
see an army of English, fled after a faint resistance, and 
suffered greatly in the pursuit : the remnant that escaped, 
were besieged by the victors in a fortified camp ; and be- 
ing reduced to extremity by hunger, they implored the 
clemency of Alfred, whose prudence converted them from 
mortal enemies into faithful friends and confederates. He 
proposed to Guthrum and his followers to re-people the 
desolated parts of East Anglia c'.nd Northumberland ; but 
he required from them as a pledge of their future sincerity^ 
that they should embrace Christianity. The Danes com- 
plied ; and Guthrum received, as the adopted son oi' 
Alfred, the name of Atheistan. 

The success of this expedient seemed to correspond 
with Alfred's hopes : the greater part of the Danes settled 
peaceably in their nevr quarters ; the more turbulent pro- 
cured subsistence by ravaging the coasts of France ; and 
England enjoyed for some years a state of tranquilhty. 
Alfred employed this period in establishing civil and mili- 
tary institutions, and in providing for the future defence 
of the island. He repaired the ruined cities ; built castles 
and fortresses ; and established a regular militia. Sensible 
that the best means of defending an island is by a navy, 
he increased the shipping of his kingdom both in number 
and strength, and trained his subjects to maritime conflicts. 
He stationed his vessels with such judgment as continually 
to intercept the Danish ships either before or after they 
had landed their troops ; and by this means he repelled 
several inroads of the Danes. 

At length Hastings, the celebrated Danish chief, having 
ravaged all the provinces of France, along the Loire and 
the Seine, appeared off" the coast of Kent with three hun- 
dred and thirty sail ; where the greater part of the Danes 
disembarked, and seized the iortof Apuldore. Hastings 
iiiraself, with a fleet of eighty sail, entered the Thames, 



iid HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

and fortifying Milton in Kent, spread his forces over the 
country, and committed the most dreadful ravages. Al- 
fred, on the first alarm of this descent, hastened with 
a chosen band to the defence of his people ; and col- 
lecting all the armed militia, he appeared in the field with 
a force superior to that of the enemy. The invaders, 
instead of increasing their spoil, were obliged to seek 
refuge in their fortifications. Tired of this situation, 
the Danes at Apuldore suddenly left their encampment., 
and attempted to march towards the Thames, and te 
penetrate into the heart of the kingdom ; but Alfred, 
whose vigilance they could not escape, encountered and 
defeated them at Farnham. They fled to their ships, and 
escaped to Mersey in Essex, where they erected new 
works for their protection. Hastings attempted a similar 
movement at the same time, and with the same success : 
after leaving Milton, he was glad to find refuge at Bam> 
flete, near the isle of Canvey, where he threw up fortifi' 
cations for his defence. 

From these invaders the attention of Alfred was soon 
distracted by another enemy. Guthrum was now dead ; 
and his followers, encouraged by the appearance of s© 
great a body of their countrymen, revolted against the 
authority of Alfred. They embarked on board of two 
hundred and forty vessels, and appeared before Exeter,, 
in the west of England. Alfred immediately marched to 
the west, and suddenly attacking them, defeated them^ 
and pursued them to their ships with great slaughter. In 
another attempt on the coast of Sussex, they were again 
repulsed, and some of their ships taken. Discouraged by 
these difficulties, they embarked, and returned to their 
settlements in Northumberland. 

In the mean time, the Danes in Essex, having quitted 
their retreat, and united their forces under the command 
of Hastings, ravaged the inland country. The EngHsh 
army left in London attacked the Danish intrenchments 
at Bamflete, overpowered the garrison, and carried off the 
wife and two sons of Hastings. Alfred restored the cap- 
tives to the Danish chief, on condition that he should quit 
the kingdom, to which he readily assented. 

However, many of the Danes refused to follow Hastings, 
Great numbers ©f them seized and fortified Shobury, al 



ALFRED. 1/ 

thfe mouth of the Thames ; and leaving a garrison therCj 
they marched to Boddington, in the county of Gloucester, 
where they were re-enforced by the Welsh, and erected 
fortifications for their protection. Alfred surrounded 
them with his whole force. After having endured the 
extremities of famine, they attacked the English, and a 
small number of them effected their escape ; but most of 
theni being taken, they were tried at Winchester, and 
hanged as public robbers. 

This well-timed severity restored tranquillity to Eng- 
land, and produced security to the government. Not on- 
ly the East-Anglian and Northumberland Danes, but the 
Wesh, acknowledged the authority of Alfred. By pru- 
dence, by justice, and by valour, he had now established 
his sovereignly over all the southern parts of the island, 
from the English channel to the frontiers of Scotland ; 
when, in the vigour of his age, and in the full possession 
df his faculties, he expired, after a glorious reign of twen- 
ty-nine years and. a half, in which he had deservedly at- 
tained the appellation of Great, and the title of founder 
of the English monarchy. 

The character of Alfred, both in private and public life, 
is almost unrivalled in the annals of any age or nation. 
His virtues were so happily tempered together, and so 
justly blended, that each prevented the other from exceed- 
ing its proper boundaries. He reconciled the most enter- 
prising spirit with the greatest moderation ; the most se- 
vere justice with the gentlest lenity ; the highest capacity 
and inclination for science, with the most shining talents 
for action. His civil and his military virtues are almost 
equally the objects of our admiration ; and nature, also, 
as if so bright a production of her skill should be set in 
the fairest light, had bestowed on him every personal 
grace and accomplishment. 

The martial exploits of Alfred afford only an imperfect 
idea of his merit. His civil institutions, many of which 
still exist, and his encouragement of the arts and sciences, 
form the most prominent features of his reign. The vio- 
lence and rapacity of the Danes had subverted all order 
throughout England, and introduced the greatest anarchy 
and confusion. To provide a remedy for the evils which 
their licentiousness had occasioned, and to render the 



k 



16 HISTORY OP BNGLANB. 

execution of justice strict and regular, Alfred divided the 
kingdom into counties ; these he subdivided into hundreds, 
and the hundreds into tithings. Ten householders formed j 
a tithing, who were answerable for each other's conduct,! 
and over whom a headborough or borsholder was appoint-j 
ed to preside. Every man was obliged to register himself 
in some tithing ; and none could change his habitation^ 
without a certificate from the headborough of the tithing 
to which he belonged. 

When any person had been guilty of a crime, the head- 
borough was summoned to answer for him ; and if the 
headborough was unwdlUng to be surety for his appear- 
ance, the criminal was committed to prison till his trial. 
If the criminal fled, either before or after finding sureties, 
the headborough and tithing were exposed to the penalties 
of the law. Thirty-one days were allowed them for pro- 
ducing the criminal. If the time elapsed before they 
could find him, the headborough and two other members 
of the tithing were obliged to appear, and together with 
three chief members of three neighbouring tithings, con- 
sisting of twelve in ail, swear that the tithing was free from 
all privity both of the crim^e and of the escape of the crimi- 
nal. If the headborough could not produce such a num- 
ber of witnesses to their innocence, the dthmg was compel- 
led to pay a fine to the king. Phis institution obliged ev- 
ery man carefully to observe the conduct of his neigh- 
bours, and was a kind of surety for their behaviour. 

In the administration of justice, the headborough sum- 
moned his tithing to assist him in deciding any trivial 
difference which occurred among the members. In affairs 
of greater moment, or in controversies between members 
of different tithings, the cause was brought before the 
hundred, v/hich consisted of ten tithings, or one hundred 
famdies, and which was regularly assembled once in four 
weeks. In their method of decision we trace the origin 
of juries. Twelve freeholders were chosen, who, togeth- 
er with the presiding magistrate of that division, were 
sworn to administer impartial justice in the cause submit- 
ted to their jurisdiction. 

The county court, which met twice a year, and consist- 
ed of the freeholders of the county, was superior to that 
€)f the hundred, from which it received appeals. The 



ALFRED. 19 

bishop with the aldermen presided in it. The latter origi- 
nally possessed both the civil and military authority ; but 
Alfred, sensible that this conjunction of power might 
render the nobility dangerous, appointed a sheriff in each 
county, who was equal with the aldermen in his judicial 
function, and whose office also consisted in guarding the 
rights of the crown from violation, and in levying the fines. 
In default of justice in these courts, an appeal lay to the 
king in council ; but finding that his time would be entirely 
engrossed in hearing these appeals, Alfred took care to 
correct the ignorance or corruption of inferior magistrates, 
and to instruct his nobility in letters and laws. To guide 
them in the administration of justice, he framed a code 
of laws, which, though now lost, long served as the basis 
of English jurisprudence, and is generally deemed the 
origin of what is now denominated the common law. 

To encourage learning among his subjects was no less 
the care of this illustrious prince. When he came to the 
throne, he found the English sunk into the grossest igno- 
rance. Alfred himself complains, that on his accession 
he did not know one person south of the Thames, who 
could so much as interpret the Latin service ; and very 
few even in the northern parts who had reached that pitch 
of erudition. To supply this defect, he invited the most 
celebrated scholars from all parts of Europe ; he estab- 
lished schools ; and he founded, or at least revived, the 
university of Oxford, which he endowed with various 
privileges, revenues, and immunities. He enjoined by 
law all freeholders possessed of two hides, or about two 
hundred acres of land, to send their children to school for 
instruction ; and he gave preferment, both in church and 
state, to such only as had made some proficiency in know- 
ledge. 

However, the most effectual expedient employed by 
Alfred for the encouragement of learning, was his own 
example. He usually divided his time into three equal 
portions : one was employed in exercise and the refection 
of his body ; another, in the despatch of business ; and a 
third, in study and devotion. Sensible that the people 
were incapable of speculative instruction, he conveyed his 
morality by apologues, parables, stories, and apothegms, 
couched in poetry. He translated the fables of ^sop. 

3 



20 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

the Histories of Orosius and Bede, and Boethius on the 
consolation of Philosophy ; nor did he deem it dero- 
gatory from his high character of sovereign, legislator, 
warrior, and politician, thus to lead the way in literary 
pursuits. 

This prince was also an encourager of the mechanical 
arts. He invited idustrious foreigners to repeople his 
country, which had been desolated by the ravages of the 
Danes. He introduced and encouraged manufactures ; 
he prompted men of activity to engage in navigation and 
commerce ; he appropriated a seventh part of his own 
revenue to rebuild the ruined cities, castles, palaces, and 
monasteries ; and such was the impression of his sagaci- 
ty and virtue, that he was regarded by foreigners, as well 
as by his own subjects, as one of the greatest princes that 
had appeared on the throne of the world. 

Of the two surviving sons of Alfred by his wife Ethels- 
witha, the daughter of a Mercian earl, Ethelwald 

'' the younger inherited his father's passion for let- 
' ters, and lived a private life ; but Edward the elder 
succeeded to the military talents as well as to the throne 
of Alfred. Ethelwald, the cousin-german of Edward, and 
son of Ethelbert, the elder brother of Alfred, insisted on 
a title to the throne preferable to that of Edward. Ethel- 
wald, however, was obliged to flee ; but connecting his 
interests with those of the Danes, he obtained the assist- 
ance of those freebooters, and returned. An action was 
fought near Bury, in which the Kentish men vigorously 
opposed the Danes, who lost their bravest leaders, and 
among the rest Ethelwald himself. The reign of Edward 
was an incessant but successful struggle against the North- 
umbrians, the East-Angles, and the Danes. He gained 
two signal victories at Telmsford and Maldon, compelled 
the Danes to retire into France, and obliged the East- An- 
gles to swear allegiance to him. After a turbulent but 
successful reign of twenty-four years, his kingdom de- 
volved on Athelstan, his natural son. 

The mature age of Athelstan obtained for him the pre- 
ference over the legitimate children of Edward ; 

AD ,. - 

* _' and, amidst storms of civil conflict and foreign 

war, he proved himself not unworthy of it. He 

crushed Alfred, a powerful nobleman, who had conspired 



ATHELSTAN. EDMUND. EDRED. 21 

against him ; he entered Scotland with an army, and ex- 
torted the submission of Constantino its king ; he reduced 
to obedience the turbulent Northumbrians ; and he de- 
feated with considerable slaughter the Danes and Welsh. 
Athelstan was regarded as an able and active prince ; and 
the remarkable law which he enacted, that a merchant, 
who had made three long sea voyages, should be admitted 
to the rank of thane or gentleman, is a proof of great 
liberality of mind. He died at Gloucester, after a reign of 
sixteen years, and was succeeded by Edmund, his legiti- 
mate brother. 

The reign of Edmund was short, and his death violent. 
He chastised the Northumbrians, who seized every 
opportunity of rebelling; and he conquered Cum- q*,?' 
berland from the Britons, and conferred it on Mal- 
colm, king of Scotland, on condition that he should do 
him homage for it, and protect the north from the incur- 
sions of the Danes. He perished by the hand of Leolf, a 
notorious robber, whom he had sentenced to banishment, 
and who presumed to enter the royal apartment. The 
king, enraged at this insolence, ordered him to leave the 
room ; and on his refusing to obey, Edmund, naturally 
choleric, seized him by the hair, when the ruftian drew a 
dagger, and gave him a mortal wound. 

Edred, the brother and successor of Edmund, had no 
sooner ascended the throne, than he found it neces- 
sary to oppose the incursions of the Northumbrian ^'^' 
Danes, and to obhge Malcolm, king of Scotland, 
to renew his homage for the lands which he held in Eng- 
land. Edred, though not destitute of courage, was an 
abject slave to superstition ; and he abandoned his con- 
science to Dunstan, abbot of Glastonbury, who, under 
the appearance of sanctity, veiled the most violent am- 
bition. 

Dunstan practised the most rigid austerity, and pre- 
tended to have frequent conflicts with the devil ; in one 
of which he seized the devil by the nose with a pair of 
red-hot pincers, and held him till the whole neighbour- 
hood resounded with his bellowings. Supported by this 
affected character, Dunstan obtained an entire ascendancy 
over Edred, and was placed at the head of the treasury. 
Sensible that he owed his advancement to the austerity 



22 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

of his life, he became a partisan of the rigid monastic 
rules. The celibacy of priests was deemed meritorious 
by the church of Rome ; and the pope undertook to make 
all the clergy in the western world renounce the privilege 
of marrying. In England, Dunstan seconded his efforts, 
and introduced the reformation into the convents of Glas- 
tonbury and Abingdon ; but the secular clergy, who were 
numerous and rich, defended their privileges against this 
usurpation. During the ferment occasioned by these re- 
ligious controversies, Edred departed this life. 

The children of Edred being too young to bear the 
weight of government, the throne was filled by his 
o* * nephew Edwy, who was adorned with a graceful 
person, and possessed the most promising virtues. 
Contrary to the advice of his wisest counsellors, he unfor- 
tunately married Elgiva, a beautiful princess of the royal 
blood, who was within the degrees of affinity prohibited by 
the canon law. This occasioned the invectives of the 
monks ; and the king found reason to repent his creating 
such dangerous enemies. On the day of his coronation, 
whilst his nobility were indulging in riot and disorder, 
Edwy retired from the noisy revelry of the table, to taste 
the pleasures of love with Elgiva. Dunstan, conjecturing 
the reason of the king's retreat, burst into the apartment, 
and with every opprobrious epithet that could be applied 
to her sex, thrust the queen from her royal consort. To 
avenge this public insult, Edwy accused Dunstan of mal- 
versation in the treasury, and banished him the kingdom. 
But Dunstan's party were not inactive during his absence : 
they exclaimed against the impiety of the king and queen, 
and proceeded to still more outrageous acts of violence. 
Archbishop Odo, with a party of soldiers, seized the 
queen, burned her face with a hot iron, and forcibly car- 
ried her into Ireland. Edwy, finding himself unable to 
resist, was obliged to consent to his divorce. The un- 
happy Elgiva, attempting to return to her husband, was 
seized by the infernal Odo, who, with the malice of a de- 
mon, caused her to be hamstrung, of which she died a 
few days after, at Gloucester, in the sharpest torments. 

Not satiated with this horrible vengeance, the monks 
encouraged Edgar, the younger brother of Edwy, to aspire 
to the throne, and soon put him in possession of Mercia?; 




Edgar and Elfrida. 




Edwy and Elgiva. 



EDGAR> 23 

Northumberland, and East-Anglia. Dunstan returned to 
England, to assist Edgar and his party, and, after Ode's 
death, was installed in the see of Canterbury. The un- 
happy Edwy was excommunicated, and pursued with un- 
relenting vengeance ; but his death, which happened soon 
after, freed him from monkish persecution, and gave Ed- 
gar peaceable possession of the throne. 

Edgar discovered great abilities in the government of 
the kingdom ; and his reign is one of the most for- 
tunate in Enghsh history. By his vigorous prepa- a. d. 
rations for war, he ensured peace ; and he awed 959. 
equally the foreign and domestic Danes. The 
neighbouring sovereigns, the kings of Scotland, the princes 
of Wales, of the Isle of Man, of the Orkneys, and of Ire- 
land, were reduced to pay him submission ; but the chief 
means by which he maintained his authority, was his as- 
siduous yet forced respect to the fanatical and inhuman 
Dunstan and his kindred monks. 

These repaid his politic concessions by the highest 
panegyrics ; and Edgar has been represented by them not 
only as a consummate statesman and a great prince, but 
as a man of strict virtue, and even a saint. Nothing, how- 
ever, could more fully prove, that the praises bestowed 
on Edgar, with respect to the sanctity of his life, were ex- 
aggerated and unmerited, than his immoral and licentious 
conduct. He broke into a convent, carried off Editha, a 
nun, by force, and even committed violence on her per- 
son. For this crime, Dunstan required him merely to 
abstain from wearing his crown during seven years. At 
Andover, too, Edgar, struck with the beauty of the daugh- 
ter of a nobleman, in whose house he lodged, unceremo- 
niously went to her mother, and desired that the young 
lady might pass that very night with him. The mother, 
knowing the impetuosity of the king's temper, pretended a 
submission to his will ; but she secretly ordered a waiting- 
maid, named Elflede, to steal into the king's bed, after the 
company had retired to rest. The dawn of light discov- 
ered the deceit ; but Edgar, well pleased with his com- 
panion, expressed no displeasure on account of the fraud ; 
and Elflede became his favourite mistress, until his crim- 
inal marriage with Elfrida. 

This lady was daughter and heir of Olgar, earl of De- 

3* 



24 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

vonshire, and all England resounded with the praises of 
her beauty. The curiosity of Edgar was excited ; and he 
resolved to marry her, if he found her charms answerable 
to the report. He communicated his intentions to Athel- 
wold, his favourite, whom he deputed to bring him an au- 
thentic account of her person. Athelwold found that gen- 
eral report had not exaggerated the beauty of Elfrida ; 
and being smitten with her charms, he determined to sac- 
rifice to his love for her the fidelity which he owed to his 
master. He returned to Edgar, and assured him, that 
the birth and riches of Elfrida had been the cause of the 
admiration paid to her, and that she possessed no charms 
of superior lustre. After some time, he intimated to the 
king, that, though her parentage and fortune had not de- 
ceived him with regard to her beauty, she would be an ad- 
vantageous match for him, and might, by her birth and 
riches, make him sufficient compensation for the homeli- 
ness of her person. Edgar, pleased with an opportunity of 
establishing his favourite's fortune, sfbrwarded his^success 
by a recommendation to the parents of Elfrida, whose 
hand Athelwold soon obtained. 

Envy, which ever pursues the favourite of a king, spee- 
dily informed Edgar of the truth. However, before he 
avenged the treachery of Athelwold, he resolved to satis- 
fy himself of his guilt. He told him that he intended to 
visit his castle, and to be introduced to his wife. Athel- 
wold, unable to refuse this honour, revealed the whole 
transaction to Elfrida, and conjured her to conceal from 
Edgar that beauty which had seduced him from his fideli- 
ty. Elfrida promised a compliance, but appeared before 
the king in all her charms, and excited in his bosom at 
once the passions of desire and revenge. However, he 
dissembled his emotions, till he had an opportunity, in 
hunting, of stabbing Athelwold, and soon after publicly 
espoused Elfrida. 

Edgar died after a reign of sixteen years, and was suc- 
ceeded by Edward, whom he had by his first mar- 
„* * riage with the daughter of earl Ordmer. This 
prince was anointed and crowned by Dunstan at 
Kingston, and lived four years after his accession. His 
death alone was memorable and tragical. Though his 
?tep-raother had opposed his succession, and had raised 



ETHELRED. 25 

a party in favour of her own son Ethelred, yet Edward 
had always shown her marks of regard. He was hunt- 
ing one day near Corfe-castle in Dorsetshire, where El- 
frida resided, and paying her a visit without attendants, 
he presented her with the opportunity for which she had 
long wished. After remounting his horse, he desired 
some hquor to be brought him ; and whilst he w^as hold- 
ing the cup to his mouth, a servant of Elfrida approach- 
ed, and stabbed him behind. The prince, feeling himself 
wounded, set spurs to his horse ; but faint with the loss 
of blood, he fell from the saddle, and his foot being en- 
tangled in the stirrup, he was dragged along until he ex- 
pired. His youth and innocence obtained for him the 
appellatioja of Martyr. 

Ethelred, the son of Edgar and Elfrida, reaped the 
advantage of his mother's crime, and succeeded to 
the throne. He was a weak and irresolute monarch, a. d. 
and obtained the appellation of Unready. During 978. 
his reign the Danes resumed their ravages ; and 
Ethelred exhibited neither courage nor ability sufficient 
to repel so formidable an enemy. A shameful composi- 
tion was made with Sweyn, king of Denmark ; and the 
English monarch consented to the disgraceful badge of 
tribute. Ethelred, desirous of forming a closer alliance 
with the pirates of the north, solicited and received in 
marriage Emma, sister of Richard the second, duke of 
Normandy, whose family sprang from the Danish adventu- 
rer, Rollo. 

Whilst their sovereign courted the alliance, the EngHsh 
groaned beneath the rapacity and arrogance of the north- 
ern invaders. Sensible of the superiority of these hardy 
warriors, the English princes had been accustomed to re- 
tain in their pay bodies of Danish troops. These mercena- 
ries, by their arts and military character, had rendered 
themselves so agreeable to the fair sex, that they de- 
bauched the wives and daughters of the English ; but what 
most provoked the inhabitants was, that instead of de- 
fending them against invaders, they were always ready to 
join the foreign foe. This animosity inspired Ethelred 
with the resolution of massacreing the Danes throughout 
his dominions. Secret orders were despatched to com- 
mence the execution every where the same day; and so 



26 HISTORl? OF ENGLANl^, 

well were these orders executed, that the rage 

1002 ^^ ^^^ people, sanctioned by authority, distin- 

N V 13 g^^^^®^ ^^^ between innocence and guilt, and 

spared neither sex nor age. 

This barbarous policy, however, did not remain long 

unrevenged. Sweyn and his Danes, who wanted 

1003 ^^^^ ^ pretence for invading England, appeared 

* off the western coast. Exeter first fell into their 
hands, from the negligence or treachery of Earl Hough, a 
Norman, who had been made governour of that city. — 
Thence they extended their devastations over the country. 
The calamities of the English were augmented by famine ; 
and they submitted to the infamy of purchasing a nominal 
peace, by the payment of thirty thousand pounds. The 
dissentions of the English prevented them from opposing 
the Danes, who still continued their depredations, and 
from whom they purchased another peace at the expense 
of forty-eight thousand pounds. The Danes, however, 
disregarded all engagements, and extorted new contribu- 
tions. The English nobility, driven to despair, swore alle- 
giance to Sweyn, and delivered him hostages for their 
fidelity. Ethelred, equally afraid of the violence of the 
enemy and the treachery of his own subjects, fled into 
Normandy, whither he had sent before him Emma, and 
her two sons, Alfred and Edward. 

The king had not been more than six weeks in Norman- 
dy, when he was informed of the death of Sweyn. 
1014 '^ English prelates and nobles sent a deputation 

* into Normandy, and invited Ethelred to resume 
the royal authority. But on his return they soon perceived 
that adversity had not corrected his errors : he displayed 
the same incapacity, indolence, cowardice, and credulity. 
In Canute, the son and successor of Sweyn, the English 
found an enemy no less formidable than his father. After 
ravaging the eastern and southern coast, he burst into 
the counties of Dorset, Wilts, and Somerset ; where an 
array was assembled against him under the command of 
prince Edraond, the eldest son of Ethelred. The English 
soldiers demanded the presence of their sovereign ; and 
upon his refusal to take the field, they became discoura- 
ged, and gradually retired from the camp. Edmond, after 
some fruitless expeditions into the north, retired to Lon^ 



CANUTE. 27 

^on, which he found in confusion, from the death of the 
king, who had expired after an inglorious reign of thirty- 
five years. He left two sons by his first marriage, Ed- 
mond who succeeded him, and Edwy who was murdered 
by Canute ; and two more by his second marriage, Alfred 
and Edward, who, upon the death of Ethelred, were con- 
veyed into Normandy by queen Emma. 

Edmond, who from his hardy valour obtained the sur- 
name of Ironside, was inferior in abilities only to 
the difficulties of the time. In two battles he en- iQjg 
countered the Danes with skill and courage ; but 
in both hewas defeated or betrayed by the enmity or per- 
fidy ofEdric,duke of Mercia. The indefatigable Edmond, 
however, had still resources : he assembled a new army 
at Gloucester, and was again prepared to dispute the 
field ; when the Danish and Enghsh nobility, equally 
harassed, obliged their kings to submit to a compromise, 
and to portion the kingdom. Canute reserved to him- 
self the northern part, and relinquished the southern 
to Edmond. This prince survived the treaty about a 
month ; he was murdered at Oxford by two of his cham- 
berlains, accomplices of Edric, who thereby made way 
for the succession of Canute the Dane to the crown of 
England. 

Canute, at the head of a great force, was ready to take 
advantage of the minority of Alfred and Edward, 
the two sons of Edmond. To cover, however, his < q < « 
injustice under plausible pretences, before he seiz- 
ed the dominions of the English princes, he summoned a 
general assembly of the states, in order to fix the succession 
of the kingdom. He here suborned some nobles to depose, 
that, in the treaty of Gloucester, it had been verbally 
agreed, in case of Edmond's death, to name Canute suc- 
cessor to his dominions, or tutor to his children ; and thiiS 
evidence, supported by the great power of Canute, deter- 
mined the states to vest in him the government of the king- 
dom. Jiealous of the two princes, he sent them to his ally 
the king of Sweden, whom he desired to free him by their 
death from all future anxiety. The Swedish monarch was 
too humane to comply with this cruel request ; but afraid 
of a quarrel with Canute if he protected the young 
princes, he conveyed them to Solomon, king of Hungary. 



28 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

The elder died without issue ; but Edward the younger 
married Agatha, the sister-in-law of Solomon, and daugh- 
ter of the emperor Henry II., by whom he had Edgar 
Atheling, Margaret, afterwards queen of Scotland, and 
Christina, who became a nun. 

Canute no sooner found himself confirmed on the 
throne, than he put to death the nobles, on whose fidelity 
he could not rely ; and among these was the traitor Edric, 
who had presumed to reproach him with his services. 
But, like a wise prince, he was determined that the Eng- 
lise, now deprived of all their dangerous leaders, should 
be reconciled to the Danes by the justice and impartiali- 
ty of his government. He restored the Saxon customs 
in the general assembly of the states ; he made no dis- 
tinction between Danes and English in the distribution 
of justice ; and the victors were gradually incorporated 
with the vanquished. Though the distance of Edmond's 
children was regarded by Canute as the greatest security 
to his govornraent, yet he dreaded the pretensions of 
Alfred and Edward, who were supported by their uncle, 
Richard, duke of Normandy. To acquire the friendship 
of that prince, he paid his addresses to his sister Emma ; 
and the widow of Ethelred consented to bestow her hand 
on the implacable enemy of her former husband, on con- 
dition that the children of their marriage should mount 
the English throne. 

After repelling the attacks of the king of Sweden, Ca- 
nute invaded and subdued Norway, of v/hich he retained 
possession till his death. At leisure from war, lie cast 
his view towards that future existence, which it is so na- 
tural for the human mind, whether satiated by prosperity^ 
or disgusted with adversity, to make the object of its 
attention. Instead, however, of endeavouring to atone 
for the crimes which he had committed by compensation 
to the injured, it was in building churches, in endowing 
monasteries, and in a pilgrimage to Rome, that his penS 
tence was displayed. Some of his courtiers affected to 
think his power uncontrollable, and that all things would 
be obedient to his command. Canute, sensible of their 
adulation, ordered his chair to be placed on the sea shore 
while the tide was rising ; and as the waters approached, 
he commanded them to retire, and to obey the voice of 




Assassination of Edward the Martyr. 




Canute reproving his Flatterers. 



HAROLD. HARDICANUTE. EDWARD. 29 

him who was lord of the ocean. But when the sea, still 
advancing towards him, began to wet his feet, he turned 
to his courtiers, and remarked to them, that every crea- 
ture in the universe is feeble and impotent, compared to 
that Almighty Being in whose hands are all the elements 
of nature, and who can say to the ocean, " Thus far shalt 
thou go, and no farther." 

Canute died at Shaftsbury, in the nineteenth year of 
his reign. Of his two sons by his first marriage, Sweyn 
had been crowned king of Norway, and Harold succeeded 
his father on the English throne ; and Hardicanute, who 
was his issue by Emma, was left in possession of the king- 
dom of Denmark. 

Though Harold succeeded to the throne of England 
agreeably to the will of his father, who considered 
it dangerous to leave a newly-conquered kingdom ^Ao-' 
in the hands of so young a prince as Hardicanute ; 
yet this was a manifest violation of the treaty ^'with the 
duke of Normandy, by which England was assigned to 
the issue of Canute by Emma. Harold was favoured by 
the Danes, and Hardicanute by the English. The death 
of Harold, however, which happened four years after his 
accession, left the succession open to his brother Hardi- 
canute. He expired, little regretted by his subjects, and 
distinguished only for his agility in running, by which he 
had gained the surname of Harefoot. 

Hardicanute, upon his arrival from the continent, was 
received with the most extravagant-demonstrations 
of joy, and was acknowledged king both by the ,Qoq 
Danes and the English. However, he soon lost 
the affections of the nation by his misconduct. At the 
nuptials of a Danish lord, which he had honoured with 
his presence, Hardicanute died ; and this event once 
more presented to the English a favourable opportunity 
of shaking off the Danish yoke. 

The descendants of Edmond Ironside, the legitimate 
heirs to the crown, were at a distance in Hungary ; 
and as all delays might be dangerous, the vacant '' 
throne was offered to Edward, the son of Ethelred 
and Emma. His succession might have been opposed 
by earl Godwin, who had espoused the daughter of Ca- 
nute, and whose power, alliances, and abihties, gave him 



4^ 



30 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

a great influence ; but it was stipulated, that Edward 
should marry Editlia, the daughter of Godwin. To this 
Edward consented, and was crowned king of England. 

The long residence of Edward in Normandy, had 
attached him to the natives, who repaired to his court in 
great numbers, and who soon rendered their language, 
customs, and laws, fashionable in the kingdom. Their 
influence soon bacame disgusting to the Enghsh ; but 
above all it excited the jealousy of Godwin. That power- 
ful nobleman, besides being earl or duke of Wessex, had 
the counties of Kent and Sussex annexed to his govern- 
ment : his eldest son, Sweyn, possessed the same autho- 
rity in the counties of Oxford, Berks, Gloucester, and 
Hereford : and Harold, his second son, was duke of East 
Anglia, and at the same time governor of Essex. The 
king had indeed married the daughter of Godwin ; but 
the amiable qualities of Editha had never won the affec- 
tion of her husband. It is even pretended that Edward 
abstained from all commerce of love with her ; and such 
a forbearance, though it obtained for the prince, from the 
monkish historians, the appellation of Saint and Con- 
fessor, could not but be noticed by the high-spirited God- 
win. 

However, the influence of the Normans was the popular 
pretence for the disaffection of the duke of Wessex to the 
king and his government. Godwin raised the standard of 
rebellion ; but finding himself, from the desertion of his 
troops, incapable of opposing his sovereign, he fled to 
Flanders. Returning with a powerful fleet, which the 
earl of Flanders had permitted him to prepare in his har- 
bours, a new reconciliation took place, and the most ob- 
noxious of the Normans were banished. 

Godwin's death, which happened soon after, devolved 
his government of Wessex, Sussex, Kent, and Essex, with 
his office of steward of the household, on his son Harold, 
who was actuated by an ambition equal to that of his 
father, and was superior to him in virtue and address. 
Edward, who felt the approach of age and infirmities, and 
had no issue himself, began to think of appointing a suc- 
cessor to his kingdom ; and, at length, he fixed his choice 
on his kinsman, William, duke of Normandy. 

This celebrated prince was natural son of Robert, duke 



UAROLB. 31 

of Normandy, by Harlotta, daughter of a tanner in Fa- 
laise. The illegitamacy of his birth had not prevented 
him from being acknowledged by the Normans as their 
duke ; and the qiiahties which he displayed m the field 
and the cabinet, encouraged iiis friends, and struck terror 
into Ins enemies. Having estabHshed tranquillity in his own 
dominions, he visited England ; where he was received 
in a manner suitable to the reputation he had acquired, 
and to the obligations which Edward owed to his r'a;nily. 
Soon after his return, he was intbrmed of the king's in- 
tentions in his favour ; and this first opened the mind of 
William to entertain such ambitious hopes. Harold, how- 
ever, openly aspired to the succession ; and Edward, fee- 
ble and irresolute, was afraid to declare either for or 
against him. In this state of uncertainty, the king was 
surprised by death, in the sixty-fifth year of his age, and 
the twenty-fifth of his reign, 

On the death of Edward, the last of the Saxon princes, 
Harold ascended the throne with little opposition ; 
and the whole nation seemed to acquiesce in his ^^nn 
elevation. The duke of Normandy, however, re- 
ceived the intelligence with the greatest indignation. No 
sooner had he proclaimed his intention of attempting the 
conquest of England, than he found less difficulty in com- 
pleting his levies, than in rejecting those who were desi- 
rous of serving under him. The duke of Normandy spee- 
dily assembled a fleet of three thousand vessels, in which 
to transport an army of sixty thousand men, whom he had 
selected from the numbers that courted his service. 
Among these were found the high names of the most il- 
lustrious nobles of Normandy, France, Brittany, and Flan- 
ders. To these bold chieftains William held up the spoils 
of England as the prize of their valour ; and pointing to 
the opposite shore, he told them, that there was the field 
on which to erect trophies to their name, and fix their res- 
idence. The Norman armament arrived, without any ma- 
terial loss, at Pevensey in Sussex ; and the troops were 
disembarked without meeting any obstable. The duke 
himself, as he leaped on shore, happened to stumble and 
fall ; but he had the presence of mmd to turn the omen 
to his advantage, by calling aloud that he had taken pos« 
sessign of the country, 

4 



32 HISTORY 0P ENGLAND. 

Harold had just gained a great and important victory 
over the Norwegians, who had invaded the kingdom, when 
he received the inteUigence that the duke of Normandy 
had landed with a numerous army in the south of Eng- 
land. He V resolved to give battle in person, and soon 
appeared in sight of the enemy, who had pitched their 
camp at Hastings. So confident was Harold of success, 
that to a message sent by the duke, he replied, " The 
God of battles should soon be the arbiter of all their dif- 
ferences." 

Both parties immediately prepared for action : but the 
English spent the night previous to the battle, in 
lORfi "*^^ ^^^ j^^^^ity ; whilst the Normans were occupied 
^ . ^'. in prayer and in the duties of religion. In the 
'morning, the duke assembled his principal officers 
and harangued them in a set speech, in which he used 
every argument that could stimulate their courage and 
repel their fears. He then ordered the signal of battle to 
be given ; and the whole army, moving at once, and sing- 
ing the hymn or song of Roland, the famous peer of Char- 
lemagne, advanced in order and with alacrity towards the 
English. 

Harold had seized the advantage of a rising ground, 
and having secured his flanks with trenches, he resolved 
to stand on the defensive and to avoid an engagement 
with the cavalry, in which he was inferior. The Kentish 
men were placed in the van, a post of honour which they 
always claimed as their due. The Londoners guarded 
the standard ; and the king himself, accompanied by his 
two valiant brothers, Gurth and Leofwin, dismounting 
from his horse, placed himself at the head of his infantry, 
and expressed his resolution to conquer or to die. The 
first attack of the Normans was desperate, but was re- 
ceived with equal valour by the English ; and the former 
began to retreat when William hastened to their support 
with a select band. His presence restored the action : 
and the English in their turn were obliged to retire. They 
rallied again, however, assisted by the advantage of the 
ground ; when William commanded his troops to allure 
the enemy from their position, by the appearance of flight. 
The English followed precipitately into the plain ; where 
the Normans faced upon them, and f@rced them back with 



WILLIAM THE GONCIUEROR. ^O 

considerable slaughter. The artifice was repeated a se- 
cond time with the same success ; yet a great body of the 
Enghsh still maintamed themselves in firm array, and 
seemed resolved 'o dispute the victory. Harold, however, 
was slain by an arrow, whilst combatting at the head of 
his men ; and his two brothers shared the same fate. The 
English, discouraged i>y the tall of their princes, fled on 
all sides ; and the darkness of the night contributed to 
save those who had survived the carnage of the battle. 

Thus was gained by William, duke of Normandy, the 
great and decisive victory of Hastings, after a battle fought 
from morning to sun-set, in whicli the valour of the van- 
quished, as well as of the victors, was highly conspicuous. 
In this engagement nearly fifteen thousand Normans fell ; 
and William had three horses killed under him. But the 
victory, however dearly purchased, was decisive^ as it paid 
tlie price of a kingdom. 1 he body of Harold was brought 
to William, who generously restored it without ransom to 
his mother. The, Norman army gave thanks to heaven 
for their success ; and their prince pressed forwards to 
secure the prize he had won. 

CHAP. HI. 

The Reigns oj William the Conqueror^ William Rufus^ 
Henry /., and Stephen. 

As soon as William passed the Thames at Wal- 

• A. D. 

lingford, Stigand, the primate, made submission to -tkr-^ 
him : and before he came in sight of London, all 
the chief nobility entered his camp, and requested him to 
mount the throne, declaring that, as they had always been 
ruled by regal power, they desired to follow, in this in- 
stance, the example of their ancestors, and knew of no 
one more worthy than himself to hold the reins of govern- 
ment. Though William feigned to hesitate, and wished 
to obtain a more formal consent of the English nation, 
yet he dreaded the danger of delay, and accepted^of the 
crown which was thus tendered him. He was consecra- 
ted in W^estminster Abbey by Alfred, archbishop of York ; 
and he was attended, on this occasion, by the most con* 
siderable of the nobility, both English and Norman, 



34 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

Thus, by a pretended destination of king Edward, and 
by an irregular election of the people, but still more by 
force of arms, William seated himself on the English 
throne. He introduced into England that strict execution 
of justice for which his government had been much cele* 
brated in Normandy. He confirmed the liberties and im- 
munities of London, and the other cities of England, and 
appeared desirous of replacing every thing on ancient 
establishments. His whole administration had the sem- 
blance of that of a lawful prince, not of a conqueror ; 
and the English began to flatter themselves that they had 
changed only the succession of their sovereigns, and not 
the form of their government. But amidst this confidence 
and friendship which he expressed for the English, the 
king took care to place all real power in the hands of the 
Normans. He built citadels in London, Winchester, Here- 
ford, Oxford, and the towns best situated for command- 
ing the kmgdom, all of which he garrisoned with Norman 
soldiers. 

By this mixture of vigour and lenity, William had so 
soothed or humbled the minds of the English, that he 
thought he might safely revisit his native country, and en- 
joy the congratulations of his ancient subjects. Accord- 
ingly, he set out for Normandy, and carried over with him 
the chief of the English nobles, who, whilst they served to 
grace his court by their magnificence, were in reality hos- 
tages for the fidelity of the nation. 

During the absence of William, affairs took a very un- 
favourable turn in England. It is probable that the Nor- 
mans, despising a people who had so easily submitted to 
the yoke, and envying their riches, were desirous of pro- 
voking them to rebellion. Certain, however, it is, that 
their arrogance multiplied discontents and complaints ev- 
ery where ; that secret conspiracies were entered into 
against the government ; and that every thing seemed to 
threaten a revolution. The disaffection of the English 
daily increased ; and a secret conspirrcy was entered into 
to perpetrate in one day a general Massacre of the Nor- 
mans, like that which had been formerly executed upon 
the Danes. 

"^i he return of the king, however, disconcerted the plans 
of the conspirators ; and the confiscation of their estates 



WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 35 

enabled the king still farther to gratify the rapacity of the 
Normans. Though naturally violeni. and severe in his 
temper, yet William still preserved the appearance of 
justice in his oppression : he restored to their inheritance 
such as had been arbitrarily expelled by the Normans 
during his absence ; but he imposed on the people the 
tax of Danegelt, which had been abolished by Edward 
the Confessor, and which was extremely odious to the 
nation. 

The Enghsh now clearly foresaw that the king intended 
to rely entirely on the support and affection of foreigners, 
and that new forfeitures would be the result of any attempt 
to maintain their rights, impressed with this dismsl pros- 
pect many fled into for i j;n countries. Several of them 
settled in Scotland, and t'ounded families which were af- 
terwards illustrious in tiiat country. But whilst the Eng- 
lish suffered under these oppressions, the Normans found 
themselves sunouuded by an agreeable people, and began 
to wish for tranquillity. However, the rage of the van- 
qui.^hed Enulish served only to excite the attention of the" 
king and his warlike chiel^ to suppress every commence- 
ment of rebellion. 

WiUiam introduced into England the feudal law, which 
had some time been established in Normandy and France. 
He divided, with very few exceptions, besides the royal 
demesnes, all the lands of England into baronies ; and he 
conferred them with the reservation of stated services 
and payments, on the most considerable of his adven- 
turers. These barons made a grant of a great part of 
tlieir lands to other foreigners, under the denomination of 
knights or vassals, who paid their lord the same duty and 
submission which the chieftan paid to their sovereign. 
The whole kingdom contained about 700 chief tenants, 
and 60,215 knights-fees ; and as none of the native Eng- 
lish were admitted into the first rank, the few who re- 
tained their landed property were glad to be received 
into the second, under the protection of some powerful 
Norman. 

The doctrine which exalted the papacy above all human 
power, had gradually diffused itself from Rome ; but, at 
this time, was more prevalent in the southern, than in the 
northern kingdoms of Europe. Pope Alexander, who 

4* 



36 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

had assisted William in his conquest, naturally expected 
that he would extend to England the reverence for this 
sacred character, and break the spiritual independence of 
the Saxons. As soon, therefore, as the Norman prince 
was established on the throne, Alexander despatched to 
him Esmenfroy, bishop of Siam, as his legate : and the 
king, though iie was probably led by principle to pay sub- 
mission to Rome, determined to employ this incident as 
a means of serving his political purposes, and degraded 
those English prelates who were obnoxious to hini. How- 
ever, the superstitious spirit which became dangerous to 
some of ¥/illiam's successors, was checked by the abili- 
ties of that monarch. He prohibited his subjects from 
acknowledging any one for pope, whom he himself had not 
previously received ; and he would not suffer any bulls or 
letters from Rome to be produced without the sanction of 
his authority. 

But the EngHsh had the mortification to find that the 
king had employed himself chiefly in oppressing them. He 
even formed a project of extinguishing the English lan- 
guage ; and, for that purpose, he ordered that in all 
schools youth should be instructed in the French tongue ; 
and that all law proceedings should be directed in the 
same idiom : hence arises that mixture of French which 
is at present found in the English tongue, and particularly 
in legal forms. 

William's eldest son, Robert, who was greedy of fame, 
impatient of contradiction, and without reserve in his 
friendships or enmities, had been flattered with the hope 
that his father, in possession of England, would resign to 
him the independent government of his continental do- 
minions. The king, indeed, had declared Rr.bert his suc- 
cessor in Normandy, and had obliged the barons of that 
duchy to do homage to him as their future sovereign ; but 
when Robert demanded of his father the execution of 
those engagements, William refused ; Robert openly de- 
clared his discontent, and cherished a violent jealousy 
against his two surviving brothers, William and Henry. 
Irritated by an imaginary affront, he quitted the court, and 
after an ineffectual attempt to surprise the citadel of Rou-v 
en, fled to Hugh de Neufchatel, a powerful Norman bar- 
on, and openly levied war against his father. Aftev a 



WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR* 37 

struggle of several years, a reconciliation was effected be- 
tween the king and Robert, who soon after accompanied 
his father to England. 

Having gained a respite from war, William employed 
his leisure in an undertaking which does honour to his me- 
mory. He appointed commissioners to survey all the 
lands in the kingdom ; their extent in each district ; their 
proprietors, tenures, value ; and the quantity of meadow, 
pasture, wood, and arable land, which they contained. 
This monument, called Domesday Book, was perfected in 
six years, and is still preserved in the exchequer. 

The domestic happiness of William was again 
interrupted by the death of his consort Matilda, ^/oq 
whom he tenderly loved. He was involved in war 
with France, on account of the inroads into Normandy by 
some French barons on the fs ontiers. The displeasure of 
William was increased by some railleries which Philip of 
France had thrown out against his person. He was be- 
come corpulent, and had been detained in bed some time 
by sickness, when Philip jocularly expressed his surprise, 
that his brother of England should be so long in being de- 
livered of his big belly. This bemg reported to William, 
he sent Phihp word, that, as soon as he was up, he would 
present so many lights at Notre-dame, as perhaps would 
give little pleasure to the king of France ; alluding to 
the usual practice at that time of v.'omen after child-birth. 
Immediately after his recovery, he led an army into the 
Isle of France, which he laid waste ; and he also took 
and reduced to ashes the town of Mante. But the pro- 
gress of these hostilities was stopped by an accident, 
which put an end to his life. His horse starting, he bruised 
his belly on the pommel of his saddle ; and being in a bad 
habit of body, and apprehending the consequences, he 
ordered himself to be carried to the monastery of St. 
Gervas. In his last moments, he was struck with remorse 
for the cruelties he had exercised, and endeavoured to 
make atonement by presents to churches and monasteries. 
He left Normandy and Maine to his eldest son, Robert ; 
and he wrote to Lanfranc, arch-bishop of Canterbury, de- 
siring him to crown his second son, William. To Henry, 
his" third son, he bequeathed nothing save the possessions 
of Ills mother, Matilda ; but foretold that he would one 



38 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

day surpass both his brothers, in power and opulence. — 
Having made these dispositions, he expired, in the sixty- 
third year of his age, and in the tvventy-iBrst of his reign 
over England. 

Few^ princes have been more fortunate than William, or 
were better entitled to grandeur and prosperity, from the 
abilities and vigour of mind which he displayed in all his 
conduct. His spirit was bold and enterprising, yet guided 
by prudence : and his ambition, though exorbitant, gene- 
rally submitted to the dictates of sound policy. Though 
not insensible to generosity, he was hardened against com- 
passion ; and his conduct was too austere to render his 
government popular over a vanquished people, who felt 
him to be both a master and a tyrant. 

William, surnarned Rvjus, from the red colour of his 
hair, was solemnly crowned king of England by 

■ o^ the primate ; and about the same time Robert was 
' acknowledged successor to Normandy. But the 
barons, who possessed estates both in England and Nor- 
mandy, were uneasy at the separation of those territories ; 
they respected the claim of primogeniture in Robert, and 
they preferred his open and generous nature to the haughty 
and tyrannical disposition of his brother. A conspiracy, 
therefore, was formed against William, who, conscious of 
his danger, endeavoured to conciliate the affections of the 
English, by promises of future lenity, and the indulgence 
of hunting in the royal forests. The Enghsh espoused 
the cause of William, who marched an army into Kent, 
and reduced the fortresses of Pevensey and Rochester, 
which had been seized by his uncles. This success, to- 
gether with the indolent conduct of Robert, broke all the 
hopes of the rebels ; some few of whom received a par- 
don ; but the greater part were attainted, and their estates 
confiscated. 

But the noise of the petty wars and commotions sunk 
in the tumult of the crusades, which engrossed the atten- 
tion and agitated the hearts of the principal nations of 
Europe. Peter the Hermit, a native of Amiens in Pi- 
cardy, had made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, then in 
possession of the Turks. Deeply affected with the dan- 
gers to which that act of piety now exposed the pilgrims, 
lie entertained the design of leading against the Moslems 




William the First receiving the Crown. 




Death of William Rufus, 



WILLIAM RUFUS. 39 

the hardy warriors of the west. By permission of the 
pope, Martin the Second, he preached the crusade over 
Europe ; and men of all ranks flew to arms, with the 
greatest alacrity, for the purpose of rescuing the Holy 
Land from the infidels. The sign of the cross became the 
badge of union, and was affixed on their right shoulder, 
by all who enlisted themselves in this sacred warfare. 
Such was the general ardour, that while the youthful and 
vigorous took up arms, the infirm and aged contributed 
to the expedition by presents and money. A promiscu- 
ous, disorderly multitude of 300,000, impatient to com^ 
mence operations, under the conductof Peter the Hermit, 
attempted to penetrate through Hungary and Bulgaria to 
Constantinople, and perished by disease, by famine, and 
the sword. These were followed by more numerous 
and better discipliiied armies, which, after passing the 
streights at Constantinople, were mustered in the plains 
of Asia, and amounted to the number of 700,000 com- 
batants. 

Robert duke of Normandy, impelled by the bravery and 
mistaken generosity of his spirit, had early engaged in 
the crusade ; but being destitute of money, he offered to 
mortgage, or rather sell his dominions to his brother Wil- 
liam, for the inadequate sum often thousand marks. The 
bargain was soon concluded ; and whilst Robert set out 
with a magnificent train for the Holy Land, WiUiara pos- 
sessed himself of Normandy, and thus re-united, beneatli 
his authority, the extensive dominions of his father. 

The cession of Normandy and Maine extended the do- 
minions, but on account of the unsettled state of those 
countries, weakened the power of William. The Norman 
nobles were men of independent minds, and were support- 
ed by the French king in all their insurrections. Helic, 
lord of le Fleche, a small town in Anjou, obliged William 
to undertake several expeditions, before he could prevail 
over a petty baron, who had acquired the confidence and 
affections of the inhabitants of Maine. 

However, the king was not less desirous of extending 
his dominions. William, earl of Poictiers and duke of 
Guienne, inflamed with the spirit of adventure, deter- 
mined to join the crusaders : but wanting money to for- 
ward the preparations, he offered to mortgage his domin- 



40 HISTORY or ENGLAND. 

nions to the king of England. This proposal was accept- 
ed by the king, who had prepared a fleet and army to es- 
cort the money and to take possession of the rich provin- 
ces of Poictiers and Guienne, when an accident put an end 
to all his ambitious projects and views of aggrandizement. 
He was engaged in the New Forest in hunting, accom- 
panied by Walter Tyrrel, a French gentleman, remarka- 
ble for his skill in archery ; and as William dismounted 
after a chase, Tyrrel, impatient of showing his dexterity, 
let fly an arrow at a stag, which suddenly started before 
him. The arrow glancing from a tree, struck the king in 
the breast, and instantly killed him. Tyrrel, fearful of 
suspicions which perhaps he was conscious of incurring, 
without informing the royal attendants, gained the sea- 
shore, embarked for France, and joined the crusade in an 
expedition to Jerusalem, as a penance for this involuntary 
crime : William was perfidious and oppressive ; and the 
extremes of prodigality and rapacity, which were recon- 
ciled in him, had iong estranged from him the hearts of 
his subjects. The chief monuments which perpetuate 
his name are the Tower, Westminster Hall, and London 
Bridge. 

Prince Henry was hunting with Rufus in the New For- 
est, when that monarch was killed ; and, hastening 
1 f -^n" *^ Wmchester, he extorted by threats the royal 
treasure from William de Breteuil, the keeper. 
Pursuing his journey to London, and having assembled 
some noblemen and prelates, whom his address or liberali- 
ty gained to his side, he was saluted king : and in less 
than three days after his brother's death, he was solemnly 
crowned by Maurice, bishop of London. 

To maintain the dignity which he had thus usurped, 
Henry resolved to court, by fair professions at least, the 
favour of his subjects. He passed a charter, which was 
framed to remedy many of the grievous oppressions that 
had been complained of during the reigns of his father and 
brother. He espoused Matilda, daughter of Malcolm the 
Third, king of Scotland, and niece to Edgar Atheling ; 
and his marriage with a Saxon princess, endeared him to 
the English, and tended to establish him on the throne. 

Robert returned to Normandy about a month after the 
death of his brother William. After establishing his au- 



HENRY I. 41 

thority over Normandy, he made preparations for possess- 
ing himself of England, of which he had been so unjustly 
defrauded. The two armies lay in sight of each other for 
several days without coining to action. It was, however, 
agreed, that Robert, in lieu of his pretensions to England, 
should receive an annual pension of 3000 marks ; that if 
either of the princes died without issue, the survivor 
should succeed to his dominions : and that the adherents 
of each should be pardoned. 

Alternately plunged into the most dissolute pleasures, 
or abandoned to the most womanish superstitions, Robert 
neglected the government of his duchy ; and Normandy 
became a scene of violence and depredation. To avail 
himself of these disorders, Henry raised a numerous ar- 
my, with which he invaded Normandy. He took Bayeuk 
by storm, and was admitted into Caen by the inhabitants. 
Robert, roused at last from his lethargy, advanced to meet 
him, with a view of terminating their quarrels in a deci- 
sive battle : he resumed his wanted spirit ; he animated 
his troops by his example, and threw the English into dis- 
order : but when he had the fairest prospects of victory, 
the treachery and flight of one of his generals occasioned 
the total defeat of his army. Robert and ten thousand 
of his followers were made prisoners. Normandy sub- 
mitted to the victors ; and the unfortunate prince was 
carried by Henry to England, and detained in prison dur- 
ing the remainder of his life, in the castle of Gardiff, in 
Glamorganshire. 

The conquest of Normandy seemed to establish the 
throne of Henry ; but his prosperity was clouded by a 
severe domestic calamity. His only son, William, had 
reached his eighteenth year ; he had been affianced to the 
daughter of Fulk, count of Anjou ; and he had been ac- 
knowledged as successor to the kingdom of England, and 
the duchy of Normandy. The prince was detained for 
some hours after his father had set sail from Barfleur to 
return to England ; and his captain and crew having spent 
the interval in drinking, when they weighed anchor, in 
their impatience to overtake the king, they struck the ship 
on a rock, where she immediately foundered. William 
was instantly put into the long-boat and had got clear of 
the ship ; when hearing the cries of his natural sister, the 



42 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

Countess of Perche, he ordered the seamen to row back 
in hopes of saving her. But the numbers who then 
crowded in, soon sunk the boat ; and the prince with all 
his retinue perished. Above one hundred and forty young 
noblemen, of the principal families of England and Nor- 
mandy, were lost on this occasion ; and the only person 
that escaped to relate the melancholy tale was a butcher 
of Rouen, who clung to the mast, and was taken up the 
next morning by some fishermen. When Henry received 
intelligence of this mournful event, he fainted away ; and 
it was remarked that he never after recovered his wonted 
cheerfulness. 

Henry had now no legitimate issue except one daugh-^ 
ter, Matilda, whom he had ' etrothed, when only eight 
years of age, to the emperor Henry the Fifth, and whom 
he had sent over to be educated in v.jermaiiy. Fearful lest 
her absence from the kingdom, and marriage into a foreign 
family, might endanger the succession, Henry obtained 
the hand of Adelais, daughter of Godfrey, Duke of Lo- 
vane. Adelais, however, proved barren in his embraces * 
and he bestowed his daughter Matilda, who had become a 
widow, on Geoftery, the son of Fuik, count of Anjou. 

Henry died at St. Dennis le Forrnent, from eating too 
plentifully of lampreys, m the sixty-seventh year of his 
age, and the thirty-fifth of his reign ; leaving by will his 
daughter Matilda the heir of ail his dominions. He was 
one of the most accomplished princes that ever graced the 
English throne. His person was manly, and his counte* 
nance engaging ; and he was eloquent, penetrating, and 
brave. By his great progress in literature, he acquired the 
name of Btau-clerCy or the scholar ; but his application to 
those sedentary pursuits abated nothing of the activity and 
vigilance of his government. 

The failure of male heirs to the kingdom of England 
and duchy of Normandy, seemed to leave the sue* 
^ *oK* cession open, without a rival, to the empress Ma- 
tilda ; but no sooner had Henry breathed his last, 
than Stephen, son of Adela, daughter of William the Con- 
queror, hastened to London, and was saluted king by the 
populace. His father was the count of Blois, whom Adela 
had married ; and Stephen had always affected the greatest 
attachment to his uncle, the late king, and the ipost ardent 



STEPHEN. 43 

zeal for the succession of Matilda. After gaining the pop*> 
ulace, Stephen next acquired the good- will of the clergy > 
by the influence of his brother Henry, bishop of Winches- 
ter ; and he was solemnly crowned by the archbishop of 
Canterbury, without much attendance indeed, but without 
opposition. 

The Normans no sooner heard that Stephen had seized 
the English crown, than they swore allegiance to him ; and 
Matilda was scarcely informed of her father's death, be* 
fore she found another had usurped her rights. Matilda, 
however, did not long delay to assert her claim to the 
crown. Encouraged by a quarrel which had broken out 
between Stephen and some of the clergy, she landed in 
England, with Robert, earl of Gloucester, and a retinue of 
one hundred and forty knights. She fixed her residence at 
Arundel castle, the gates of which were opened to her by 
Adelais, the queen-dowager ; and she excited her parti* 
sans to take arms in every county of England. The war 
quickly broke out in every quarter ; and England, for more 
than a year, was distressed and laid waste by the fury of 
the contending parties. At last, a battle took place betw^een 
Stephen and the earl of Gloucester. After a violent shock, 
the two wings of the royalists were put to flight ; and Ste» 
phen himself, surrounded by the enemy, was borne down 
by numbers, and taken prisoner. 

The authority of Matilda now seemed to be established 
over the whole kingdom ; but affairs did not remain long 
in this situation. Matilda was passionate and imperious, 
and did not knov|^ how to temper with affability the harsh- 
ness of a refusal. Stephen's queen, seconded by many of 
the nobility, petitioned for the liberty of her husband, on 
condition that he should renounce the crown, and retire in- 
to a convent. Other petitions also were presented to Ma 
tilda ; but she rejected them all in the most haughty and 
peremptory manner. A conspiracy was entered into to 
seize her person ; but Matilda saved herself by a precipi- 
tate retreat to Oxford. The civil war was re-kindled with 
greater fury than ever ; and Matilda, harassed with in- 
cessant action, sought repose with her son in Normandy. 

But when prince Henry, the son of Matilda, had reach- 
ed his sixteenth year, he resolved to reclaim his hereditary 
kingdom. Informed of the dispositions of the English in 

5 



44 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

his favour, he invaded England ; and, at Mahnesbury, \m 
prepared to encounter Stephen in a pitched battle. The 
great men on both sides, alarmed at the consequences of 
a decisive action, compelled the rival princes to a nego- 
tiation. It was agreed, that, on the demise of Stephen, 
the crown should revert to Henry ; and that William, 
Stephen's surviving son, should succeed to the earldom 
of Boulogne, and his patrimonial estate. After all the 
barons had sworn to the observance of this treaty, and 
done homage to Henry, as heir-appai^nt to the crown, 
that prince evacuated the kingdom ; and the death of 
Stephen, which happened the next year, after a short ill- 
ness, in the fiftieth year of his age, put an end to farther 
jealousies. 

Had Stephen succeeded by a just title to the crown, he 
seems to have been well qualified to have promoted the 
happiness of his subjects. He was possessed of industry, 
activity, and courage ; and though his judgment may be 
arraigned, his humanity must be acknowledged, and his 
address commended. During this reign, the see of Rome 
made a rapid progress in its encroachments, and ultimately 
pretended to a paramount authority over the kings of this 
country. 



CHAP. IV. 

Reigns of Henry II., Richard /., and John. 

The first acts of Henry's government corresponded to 
the high idea entertained of his abilities. He dis- 

A. D. • 

^' * missed the mercenary soldiers of Stephen ; revok- 
■ ed all grants made by his predecessors ; restored 
the coin which had been debased during the former reign ; 
and was rigorous in the execution of justice, and the sup- 
pression of violence. 

In addition to his possessing the throne of England, 
Henry, in right of his father, was master of Anjou and 
Touraine ; in that of his mother, of Normandy and Maine ; 
in that of his wife, of Guienne, Poictou, Xantiogne, Au- 
vergne, Perigord, Angoumois, and the Limosin ; and he 
annexed Brittany to his other states ; all of which ren- 
dered him one of the most powerful monarchs in Chris- 



HENRY II. 4^ 

tendom, and an object of great jealousy to the king of 
France. 

Henry directed his attention to the encroachments of 
the see of Rome, which had grown with a rapidity not to 
be brooked by a prince of his high spirit. To facilitate his 
design of suppressing; them, he advanced to the dignity of 
metropolitan, Becket, his chancellor, on whose flexibility 
of temper he had made a wrong estimate. 

Thomas 'a Becket was born of reputable parents in the 
city of London ; and having insinuated himself into the 
favour of Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury, he obtained 
from that prelate considerable preferment. Being of a 
gay and splendid turn, and apparently little tenacious of 
ecclesiastical privileges, Henry thought him the fittest per- 
son, on the death of Theobald, for the high station of me- 
tropolitan ; but no sooner was he installed on this high 
dignity, than he altered his conduct and demeanour. He 
maintained in his retinue and attendants alone, his ancient 
pomp and lustre ; in his own person he affected the great- 
est austerity ; he wore sackcloth next his skin, which he 
pretended to conceal ; he seemed perpetually employed in 
reciting prayers and pious lectures ; and all men of pene- 
tration plainly saw that he was meditating some great de- 
sign. 

Though Henry found himself grievously mistaken in the 
character of the person whom he had raised to the pri- 
macy, yet he determined not to desist from his former 
intention of retrenching clerical usurpations. The eccle- 
siastics in that age had renounced all immediate subordi- 
nation to the magistrate ; and crimes of the blackest die 
were committed by them with impunity. A clerk in Wor- 
cestershire, having debauched a gentleman's daughter, had 
proceeded to murder the father ; the general indignation 
against the crime, moved the king to attempt the remedy 
of an abuse which had become so palpable, and to require 
that the clerk should be delivered up, and receive condign 
punishment from the magistrate. Becket insisted on the 
privileges of the church, and maintained that no greater 
punishment could be inflicted on the criminal than degra- 
dation. 

In order to define expressly those laws to which he re- 
quired obedience, and to mark the limits between the civil 



4$ HISTORY OF ENGLAND, 

and ecclesiastical jurisdictions, Henry summoned a geae- 
fal council of the nobility and prelates at Clarendon ; 
when, by his influence or authority, the laws so favour- 
able to prerogative, known by the name of the Constitu- 
tions of Clarendon, were voted without opposition. Becket, 
of all the prelates, alone withheld his assent ; but he was 
at last obliged to comply, and engaged by oath legally, 
with good faith, and without fraud or reserve, to observe 
them. However, Alexander, who was pope at that time, 
condemned them in the stongest terms, abrogated, annul- 
led, and rejected them. 

Becket no sooner learnt the determination of the Ro- 
man pontiff, than he expressed the deepest sorrow for his 
compliance, and endeavoured to engage the other bishops 
to adhere to their common rights. This excited the resent- 
ment of Henry, who caused a prosecution for some land 
that he held to be commenced against him ; and when the 
primate excused himself from appearing, on account of 
indisposition, he was arraigned as guilty of a contempt of 
the king's court; and being condemned, his goods and 
chattels were confiscated. Henry soon after required 
Becket to give in the account of his administration while 
chancellor, and estimated the balance due at 44.000 
marks, for which he demanded sureties. After celebra- 
ting mass, where he had previously ordered that the introit 
to the communion service should begin with the words, 
Princes sat and spake against me, arrayed in the sacred 
vestments, and bearing the cross aloft in his hands, he 
entered the royal apartments, and declared that he put 
himself and his see under the protection of the supreme 
pontiff. Having in vain asked permission to leave North- 
ampton, he withdrew secretly to the sea-coast, and found 
a vessel which conveyed him to France, where he was re- 
ceived with every token of regard. 

Henry issued orders to his justiciaries, inhibiting, under 
severe penalties, all appeals to the pope or archbishop ; 
and by discovering some intentions of acknowledging 
Pascal HI., the anti-pope at that time, he endeavoured to 
terrify the enterprising though prudent pontiff from pro- 
ceeding to extremities against him. On the other hand, 
Becket not only issued a censure, excommunicating the 
liing's chief ministers by name, but also abrogated an^ 



HENRY II. 47 

annulled the Constitutions of Clarendon ; and he declared 
that he suspended the spiritual thunder over Henry him- 
self, solely that the prince might avoid the blow by a time- 
ly repentance. 

At length a reconciliation was effected between the king 
and the primate ; and Becket was allowed to return, on 
conditions which may be esteemed both honourable and 
advantageous to that prelate. He was not required to 
give up any rights of the church, or resign any of those 
pretentions which had been the original ground of the con- 
troversy. It was agreed that all these questions should 
be buried in oblivion ; but that Becket and his adherents 
should without making further submission, be restored to 
all their livings ; and that even the possessors of such be- 
nefices as depended on the see of Canterbury, and had 
been filled during the primate's absence, should be expel- 
led, and Becket have liberty to supply the vacancies. In re- 
turn for concessions which trenched so deeply on the hon- 
our and dignity of the crown, Henry reaped only the ad- 
vantage of seeing his ministers absolved from the sentence 
of excommunication pronounced against them, and of 
preventing the interdict with which his kingdom had been 
threatened. So anxious was Henry to accommodate all 
differences, and to reconcile himself fully with Becket, 
that on one occasion he humiliated himself so far as to 
hold the stirrup of that haughty prelate while he mounted 
his horse. 

Whilst the king was expecting an interdict to be laid on 
his kingdom, he had associated his son, prince Henry, in the 
royalty, and had caused him to be crowned by the arch- 
bishop of York. Becket, elated by the victory which he 
had gained over his sovereign, on his arrival in England 
suspended the archbishop of York, and excommunicated 
the bishops of London and Salisbury, who had assisted at 
the coronation of the prince. 

When the suspended and excommunicated prelates ar- 
rived at Baieux, where the king then resided, and inform- 
ed him of the violent proceedings of Becket, he was vehe- 
mently agitated, and burst forth in an exclamation against 
his servants, whose want of zeal, he said, had so long left 
him exposed to the enterprises of that ungrateful and im- 
perious prelate. Four gentlemen of his household, Rc- 

5* 



48 HISTORY OF ENC^LAND, 

ainald Fitz-Urse, William de Traci, Hugh de Mor6ville, 
and Richard Brito, taking these pasoionate expressions to 
be a hint for the primate's death, immediately communi- 
cated their thoughts to each other ; and swearing to avenge 
their prince's quarrel, secretly withdrew from court. The 
four assassins, though they took different roads to Eng- 
land, arrived nearly at the same time at Saltwood, near 
Canterbury ; and being there joined by some assistants, 
they proceeded in great haste to the archiepiscopal palace. 
They found the primate, who trusted entirely to the sa- 
credness of his character, very slenderly attended ; and 
though they threw out many menaces and reproaches 
against him, he was so incapable of fear, that, without 
using any precautions against their violence, he immedi- 
ately proceeded to St. Benedict's church to hear vespers. 
They^followed him thither, attacked him before the altar, 
and Having cloven his head with many blows, retired with- 
out experiencing any opposition. Such was the tragical 
end of Thomas 'a Becket, a prelate of the most lofty, in- 
trepid, and inflexible spirit, who was able to cover to the 
world, and probably to himself, the enterprises of pride 
and ambition, under the disguise of sanctity, and of zeal 
for the interests of religion. 

The intelligence of Becket's murder threw the king into 
the greatest consternation. ; and he was immediately sen- 
sible of the dangerous consequences which he had to ap- 
prehend from so horrible an event. However, the rage of 
Alexander was appeased, by the ministers of Henry ma- 
king oath before the whole consistory of their sovereign's 
innocence, and engaging that he would make every sub- 
mission which should be required of him. Becket was 
afterwards canonized by the pope ; and pilgrimages were 
performed to obtain his intercession with heaven. 

Henry, finding himself in no immiediate danger from the 

thunders of the Vatican, undertook an expedition 

^* ^' against Ireland. That island about the middle of 

the twelfth century, besides many small tribes, con- 

•tained five principal sovereignties, Munster, Leinster, 

Meath, Ulster, and Connaught ; and, as it had been usual 

for one or the other of these to take the lead m their wars, 

there was commonly some prince, who seemed, for the 

time, to act as monarch of Ireland. Rodecric O'Con- 




' BeckeVs Death. 




Henry 2. scourged at Becket's Tomb, 



HENRY n, 49 

nor, king of Connaught, was then advanced to this dig- 
nity ; but his government, ill obeyed even within his own 
territory, could not unite the people in any measures either 
for the establishment of order, or for defence against fo- 
reigners. 

Dermot Macmorrogh, king of Leinster, having rendered 
himself obnoxious by his licentious tyranny, had been ex- 
pelled his dominions by a confederacy, of which Connaught 
was the chief. The exiled prince applied to Henry for suc- 
cour, who gave Dermot no other assistance than letters pa- 
tent, by which he empowered all his subjects to aid him in 
the recovery of his dominions. Dermot formed a treaty 
with Richard, surnamed Strongbow, earl of Strigul ; who 
stipulated, for this assistance, a promise that he should 
marry his daughter, Eva, and be declared heir to all his 
territories. Dermot also engaged in his service Robert 
Fitz-Stephens, constable of Abertivi, and Maurice Fitz- 
Gerald, and obtained their promise of invading Ireland : 
he himself privately returned to his own state, concealed 
himself in a monastery which he had founded, and pre- 
pared every thing for the reception of his English allies. 

The troops of Fitz-Stephens were first ready. That 
gentleman landed in Ireland with thirty knights, sixty es- 
quires, and three hundred archers. The conjunction of 
Maurice de Pendergast, who, about the same time, brouo-ht 
over ten knights and sixty archers, enabled Fitz-Stephens 
to attempt the siege of Wexford, a town inhabited by the 
Danes ; and after gaining an advantage, he made himself 
master of the place. Soon after Fitz-Gerald arrived with 
ten knights, thirty esquires, and a hundred archers ; and 
being joined by the former adventurers, composed a force 
which nothing in Ireland was able to withstand. Roderic, 
the chief monarch of the island, was foiled in different ac- 
tions ; the prince of Ossory was obliged to submit, and 
give hostages for his peaceable behaviour ; and Dermot, 
not content with being restored to his kingdom of Leinster, 
projected the dethroning of Roderic, and aspired to the 
sole dominion of Ireland. 

In prosecution of these views, he sent over a messenger 
to the earl of Strigul, challenging the performance of his 
promise, and displaying the mighty advantages which 
might now be reaped by a re-enforceraent of warlike troops 



B^ HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

from England. Strongbow first sent over Raymond, one 
of his retinue, with ten kuights, and seventy archers ; and 
as Richard himself, who brought over two hundred horse 
and a body of archers, joined them a few days after, the 
English made themselves masters of Waterford, and pro* 
ceeded to Dublin, which was taken by assault. Richard, 
marrying Eva, became soon after, by the death of Dermot, 
master of the kingdom of Leinster, and prepared to extend 
his authority over all Ireland. 

Henry, jealous of the progress of his own subjects, 
sent orders to recall all the English ; and that monarch 
himself landed in Ireland at the head of five hundred 
knights. The adventurers appeased him by oflfering to 
hold all their acquisitions in vassalage to his crown ; and 
the Irish, being dispirited by their misfortunes, nothing 
more was necessary than to receive their submission. — 
The whole island was formally annexed to the English 
crown ; and Henry, after granting to earl Strigul the com- 
mission of seneschal of Ireland, returned in triumph to 
England. 

The king had appointed Henry, his eldest son, to be his 
successor in the kingdom of England, the duchy of Nor- 
mandy, and the counties of Anjou, Maine, and Touraine ; 
Richard, his second son, was invested in the duchy of 
Guienne and county of Poictou ; Geofiery, his third son, 
inherited, in right of his wife, the duchy of Brittany ;' and 
the new conquest of Ireland was destined for the appa- 
nage of John, his fourth son. But this exaltation of his 
family excited the jealousy of all his neighbours, who made 
those very sons, whose fortunes he had so anxiously es- 
tablished, the means of embittering his future life, and dis- 
turbing his government. 

Young Henry had been persuaded, by Lewis of France, 
that by the ceremony of coronation, in the life of his 
father, he was entitled to sovereignty. In consequence of 
these extravagant ideas, he desired the king to resign to 
him either the crown of England, or the duchy of Nor- 
inandy ; and on the king refusing to grant his request, he 
fled to Paris. Whilst Henry was alarmed at this incident, 
his uneasiness was increased by the conduct of his queen, 
Eleanor, who was not less troublesome to her present 
husband by her jealousy, in regard to fair Rosamond and 



HENRY 1I» 61 

Others, than she had been to her former by her gallantries., 
She communicated her discontents to her two younger 
sons, Geoffery, and Richard ; persuaded them that they 
were also entitled to the present possession of the territo- 
ries which had been assigned them, end induced them to 
flee secretly to the court of France. Thus Europe saw with 
astonishment three boys scarcely arrived at puberty, pre- 
tend to dethrone their father, a monarch in the full vigour 
of his age, and plenitude of his power. 

The king of England was obliged to seek for auxiliaries 
in .the tribes of banditti, who, under the name of Braban- 
gons, or Cottereaux, proffered their swords to the most 
liberal employer. At the head of twenty thousand of 
these hardy and lawless ruffians, and the few troops that 
he had brought from Ireland, he attacked and defeated 
the French army, and crushed the insurgents in Brit- 
tany. He continued his negotiations in the midst of vic- 
tory, and offered to his undutiful sons the most liberal 
terms ; but these were rejected by the confederates, who 
depended on the league they had concerted with the king 
of Scotland, and several of the most powerful barons of 
England. 

In consequence of that league, the king of Scotland 
broke into the northern provinces with a great army of 
eighty thousand men ; and Henry, who had baffled all his 
enemies in France, and had put his frontiers in a posture 
of defence, now found England the seat of danger. He 
landed at Southampton ; and knowing the influence of 
superstition over the minds of the people, he hastened to 
Canterbury, in order to make atonement to the canonized 
ashes of Thomas 'a Becket. As soon as he came within 
sight of the church of Canterbury, he dismounted, walked 
barefoot towards it, prostrated himself before the shrine 
of the saint, remained in fasting and prayer during a 
whole day, and watched all night the holy reliques. He 
also assembled a chapter of the monks, disrobed himself 
before them, put a scourge of discipline into the hands of 
each, and presented his bare shoulders to the lashes which 
these ecclesiastics inflicted upon him. Next day he re- 
ceived absolution ; and departing for London, soon after 
received the agreeable intelligence of a great victory 
which his generals had obtained over the Scots , in which 



52 HISTORY OF ENGfliAND, 

William their king was taken prisoner, and which beiag 
gained, as was reported, on the very day of his absolution, 
was regarded as the earnest of his final reconciliation with 
Heaven and with Thomas *a Becket. 

This victory was decisive in favour of Henry, and en- 
tirely broke the spirit of the English rebels. In a few 
weeks all England was restored to tranquillity. Lewis, 
the king of France, was obliged to consent to a cessation 
of arms, and engaged with sincerity in a treaty of peace ; 
and Henry, after granting to his sons much less favourable 
terms than he had formerly offered, received their submis- 
sions, it cost the kmg of Scots the ancient independency 
of his crown, as 'he price of his liberty. William stipu- 
lated to do homage to Henry for Scotland and all his other 
possessions ; and the English monarch engaged the king 
and states of Scotland to make a perpetual cession of the 
fortresses of Berwick and Roxborough, and to allow the 
castle of Edinburgh to remain in his hands for a limited 
time. This was the first great ascendant which England 
had over Scotland ; and indeed the first important transac- 
tion between the kingdoms. 

A few years after, Henry found his eldest son again en- 
gaged in conspiracies, and ready to take arms against him. 
But while the young prince was conducting these intrigues, 
he was seized with a fever at Martel, a castle near Tu- 
renne, where he died full of remorse for his undutiful be- 
haviour to his father. 

A crusade had been once more projected ; but Philip, 
who filled the throne of France, and was jealous of Hen- 
ry's power, entered into a private confederacy with young 
Richard. Philip demanded that Richard should be crown- 
ed king of England, be immediately invested with all his 
father's transmarine dominions, and espouse Alice, Philip's 
sister, to whom he had heen already affinanced. Henry re- 
fused to accede to these stipulations ; but experiencing a 
reverse of fortune, he was at length obliged to submit to 
the rigorous terms, which, under the mediation of the duke 
of Burgundy, were offered to him. 

The mortification, however, which Henry endured on 
this occasion, was increased by discovering that his fourth 
son, John, who had ever been his favourite, had secretly 
entered into the unnatural confederacy which Richard had 



RICMARt) !. 53 

formed against him. The unhappy father, already over- 
loaded with cares and sorrows, tinding his last disappoint- 
ment in his domestic tenderness, broke out into expres- 
sions of the utmost despair, cursed the day on which he 
received his miserable being, and bestowed on his ungrate- 
ful and undutiful children a malediction which he could 
never be prevailed on to retract. The agitation of hi& 
mind threw him into a lingering fever, of which he ex- 
pired at the castle of Chinon, near Saumur, in the fifty- 
eighth of his age, and the thirty-fifth of his reign ; and he 
was buried at Fontervrault. 

Henry was the greatest prince of his time for wisdom 
and abilities, and the most powerful, in extent of domin- 
ion, of all that had rilled the throne of England. His 
character, in private as well as in public life, is almost 
without a blemish ; and he seems to have possessed every 
accomplishment, both of body and mind, which renders a 
man either estimable or amiable. He loved peace, but 
possessed both bravery and abilities in war ; he was pro- 
vident without timidity ; severe in the execution of justice 
without rigour ; and temperate without austerity. 

The remorse of Richard for his undutiful behaviour 
towards his father, influenced him in the choice of 
his servants after his succession. Those who had ^ I on 
favoured his rebellion were on all occasions treated 
with disregard and contempt, whilst the faithful ministers 
of Henry, who had opposed the enterprises of his sons, 
were continued in those offices which they had honoura- 
bly discharged to their former master. 

The love of military glory impelled the king to act, from 
the beginning of his reign, as if the sole purpose of his 
government had been the relief of the Holy Land, and 
the recovery of Jerusalem from the Saracens. This zeal 
against infidels, being communicated to his subjects, broke 
out in London on the day of his coronation ; when some 
Jews, who had presumed, contrary to the orders of the 
king, to approach the hall in which he dined, were dragged 
forth, and put to death, and vengeance fell on their inno- 
cent brethren. Instantly, their housos were broken open, 
their eflfects plundered, and themselves slaughtered. The 
inhabitants of other cities followed the example of the peo- 
ple of London ; and in York, five hundred Jews,who had 



^4 HISTORY OP ENGLAND* 

fetired into the castle, finding themselves unable to defend 
it, murdered their own wives and children, and, setting fire 
to the house, perished in the flames. 

Richard, regardless of every other consideration than 
the expedition to the Holy Land, endeavoured to obtain 
supplies for the exigencies of so perilous a war, by every 
expedient which he could devise. He put to sale the rev- 
enues and manors of the crown, and the offices of great- 
est trust and power. He yielded up for ten thousand 
marks the vassalage of Scotland, with the fortresses of 
Roxborough and Berwick. He even declared, that he 
would sell London itself, could he find a purchaser. He 
left the administration in the hands of Hugh, bishop of 
Durham, and of Longchamp, bishop of Ely ; and, accom- 
panied by all the military and fiery spirits of the kingdom, 
set out for the frontiers of Burgundy, where he had en- 
gaged to meet the French king. 

In the plains of Vezelay, Richard and Philip reviewed 
their forces, and found their combined army amount to 
one hundred thousand men ; and after repeating their 
yows of friendship to each other, they separated, Richard 
embarking at Marseilles, and Philip at Genoa. They 
reached Messina about the same time, and passed the 
winter in Sicily, where several quarrels broke out between 
the troops of the different nations ; and these were com- 
municated to the two kings, who, however, waiving imme- 
diate jealousies, proceeded to the Holy Land. 

The English army arrived in time to partake in the siege 
of Acre or Ptolemais, which had been attacked for more 
than two years by the united force of all the Christians in 
Palestine. The siege of Acre was pressed with redoubled 
ardour ; but the harmony of the chiefs was of short dura- 
tion. The opposite views of Richard and Philip produced 
faction and dissention in the Christian army, and retarded 
all its operations. But as the length of the siege had re- 
duced the Saracen garrison to the last extremity, they sur- 
rendered themselves prisoners ; and the gates of Acre 
were opened to the conquerors. 

On the surrender of this place, Philip, disgusted with 
the ascendancy acquired by Richard, declared his resolu- 
tion of returning to France, under the plea of a bad state 
of health. He left, however, to the king of England, ten 



EICHARD I. 55 

thousand of his troops, under the command of the duke of 
Buroundy, and engaged by oath not to commence hostili- 
ties ao-ainst that prince's dominions during his absence ; 
but he no sooner reached home, than he proceeded, though 
secretly, in a project which the present situation of Eng- 
land rendered inviting. 

Immediately after Richard had left England, the two 
prelates, whom he had appointed guardians of the realm, 
broke out into animosities agamsi each other, and threw 
the kingdom into confusion. Longchamp, naturally pre- 
sumptuous, and armed with the legatine commission, 
hesitated not to arrest his colleague, the bishop of Dur- 
ham, and governed the kingdom by his sole authority. At 
length, he had the temerity to throw into prison Geoffrey, 
archbishop of York. This breach of ecclesiastical privi- 
leges excited such an universal ferment, that prince John 
summoned the guardian before a council of the nobility 
and prelates. Longchamp, conscious of his error, fled 
beyond sea, and was deprived of his offices of chancellor 
and chief justiciary ; but his commission of legate still 
enabled him to disturb the government. Fhihp not only 
promoted his intrigues, but entered into a corres- 
pondence with John, to whom he promised his sis- . '' 
ter Alice in marriage, and the possession of all Ri- 
chard's transmarine dominions. John was with difficulty 
deterred from this enterprise by the vigilance of his mother, 
and the menaces of the council. 

The jealousy of Philip was excited by the glory which 
the actions of Richard gained him in the east. The king 
of England obtained a complete victory over the Saracens, 
of whom forty thousand are said to have perished in the 
field of battle ; he recovered Ascalon, and advanced with- 
in sight of Jerusalem, the object of his enterprise ; but 
long absence, fatigue, disease, and want, had abated the 
ardour of the crusaders. Every one, except the king of 
England, expressed a desire of returning into Europe. 
Richard was forced to yield to their importunities ; and 
he concluded a truce with Saladin, by which the Christians 
were left in possession of Acre, Joppa, and other sea-port 
towns sf Palestine, and were allowed a free pilgrimage to 
Jerusalem. 

As Richard was acquainted with the intrigues of Piulip, 

C 



56 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

he ventured not to pass through France on his return, but 
sailed to the Adriatic ; and being shipwrecked near Aqui- 
leia, he put on the disguise of a pilgrim, and endeavoured 
to pursue his route through Germany. At Vienna he 
was arrested by orders of Leopold, duke of Austria, and 
by him he was sold to the emperor Henry VI., who 
aflfected to consider him as an enemy, on account of an 
alliance which he had contracted with Tancred king of 
Sicily. Thus Uichard, who had tilled the world with 
his renown, was confined in a dungeon, and loaded with 
irons. 

The king of France prepared to avail himself of his 
misfortunes. Philip entered into negotiations with 
1 iqs priiice John who stipulated to deliver to the king 
of France a great part of Normandy, and received, 
in return, the investiture of all Richard's transmarine do- 
minions. In consequence of this treaty, Philip invaded 
Normandy, and by the treachery of John's adherents over- 
ran a great part of it ; but he was repulsed from the walls 
of Rouen, by the gallantry of the earl of Leicester. 
Prince John was not more successful in his attempt in 
England : though he made himself master of the castles 
of Windsor and Wallingford, yet finding the barons every 
where averse to his cause, he was obliged to retire again 
to France. 

In the mean time, Richard, in Germany, suffered every 
kind of insult and indignity ; he was accused by Henry, 
before the diet of the empire, of making an alliance with 
Tancred, the usurper of Sicily ; of affronting the duke of 
Austria before Acre ; of obstructing the progress of the 
christian arms by his quarrels with the king of France ; 
and of concluding a truce with Saladin, and leaving Jeru- 
salem in the hands of the Saracen emperor. Richard, af- 
ter deigning to apologize for his conduct, burst out into 
indignation at the cruel treatment which he had met with ; 
and the emperor, finding it impracticable to detain the king 
of England longer in captivity, agreed to restore him to 
his freedom for the sum of one hundred and fifty thou- 
sand marks, or about three hundred thousand pounds of 
©ur present money. 

The joy of the English was extreme on the appearance 
of their monarch, who was crowned anew at Winchester, 



RICHARD I. 57 

US if to wipe off the ignominy of captivity. As soon as 
Philip heard of the king's dehverance, he wrote to his 
confederate John in these terms : " take care of yourself 
— the devil is broken loose." John, however, anxious to 
disengage himself from an associate whose fortunes seem- 
ed dechning, threw himself at his brother's feet, and im- 
plored his mercy. " I forgive you," said the king, " and 
hope I shall as easily forget your injuries, as you will my 
pardon." 

The king of France was the great object of Richard's 
resentment and animosity ; and during five years after the 
king's return, the two sovereigns were engaged in a series 
of faithless negotiations and desultory warfare. The car- 
dinal of St. Mary, the pope's legate, was employed in 
changing a truce into a durable peace, when the death of 
Richard put an end to the negotiation. 

Vidomer, viscount of Limoges, having found a treasure, 
it was claimed by Richard, as his superior lord ; and that 
nobleman was besieged by the king in the castle of Chalons. 
As Richard approached to survey the works, one Bertrand 
de Gourdon, an archer, pierced his shoulder with an 
arrow. The wound was not dangc rous ; but the unskil- 
fulness of the surgeon rendered it mortal. The king, 
sensible that his end was a|)proaching, sent for Gourdon, 
and said, " Wretch, what have 1 ever done to you, to in- 
duce you to seek my life 1" The prisoner coolly replied, 
" you killed with your own hands my father and my two 
brothers : I am now in your power, and you may take 
revenge, by inflicting on me the most severe torments ; 
but I shall endure them with pleasure, provided I can 
think that I have been so happy as to rid the world from 
such a nuisance." The mind of Richard was softened by 
the near approach of death, and the magnanimity of Gour- 
don : he ordered him to be set at liberty, and a sum of 
money to be given him ; but Marcadee, one of Richard's 
generals, privately seized the unhappy man, flayed him 
alive, and then hanged him. 

Thus died Richard, in the tenth year of his reign, and 
the forty-second of his age. The most shining parts of 
his character are his mihtary talents, and his personal 
courage, which gained him the appellation of " Coeur de 
Lion/' or "the Lion-hearted." He was, however, a pas» 



bt HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

sionate lover of poetry ; and some poetical works of liis 
composition are still extant. He left behind hini no issue ; 
and by his last will, he declared his brother John heir to 
all his dominions, though by a formal deed before he em- 
barked for the Holy Land, he had named as his successor, 
his nephew Arthur, duke of Brittany, the son of Geoffrey, 
elder brother of John, who was now only twelve years of 
age. 

The barons of the transmarine provinces, Anjou, Maine, 
and Touraine, decided in favour of Arthur, and 
t'iQQ applied for assistance to the French monarch. 
' * Philip, who desired only an occasion to embarrass 
John, and to dismember his dominions, embraced the 
cause of the young duke of Brittany. John, after being 
acknowledged in Normandy and England, returned to 
France, in order to conduct the war against Phihp. No- 
thing enabled the king to bring matters to a happy issue 
so much as the selfish and intriguing character of the 
French monarch. Oonstantia, the mother of Arthur, was 
jealous that Philip intended to usurp the entire dominion 
of the provinces which had declared for her son. She, 
therefore, secretly carried off her son from Paris, put him 
into the hands of his uncle, restored the provinces which 
had adhered to him, and made him do homage for the 
duchy of Brittany, which was regarded as a fief of Nor- 
mandy. As Phihp, after this incident, saw that he could 
not carry on the war with success, he entered into a treaty 
with John, in which the limits of their territories were 
adjusted ; and, to render their union more permanent, the 
king of England, gave his niece, Blanche of Castile, in 
marriage to Prince Louis, Philip's eldest son, and with 
her the baronies of Issoudun and Gracai, and other fiefs 
in Berri. 

Thus secure, as he imagined, on the side of France, 
John indulged his passion for Isabella, the daughter 
1900 ®^ *^^ count of Angouleme, a lady with whom he 
had become much enamoured. Though his queen, 
the heiress of the family of Gloucester, was still alive, 
and Isabella was betrothed to the count of Marche, the 
passion of the king overcame every obstacle ; he per- 
suaded the count of Angouleme to carry off his daughter 
,from her husband ; and having procured a divorce from 



JOHN. 59 

his wife, he espoused Isabella, regardless of the menaces 
of the people, and of the resentment of the injured count. 

John had not the art of attaching his barons either by 
affection or by fear. The count of Marche taking 
advantage of the general discontent against him, iOQl 
excited commotions in Poictou and Normandy, 
and obliged the king to have recourse to arms in order to 
suppress the insurrection of his vassals. He summoned 
together the barons of England, and required them to 
pass the sea under his standard, and to quell the rebels ; 
but he found that he possessed as iittle authority in that 
kingdom as in his transmarine provinces. The Enghsh 
barons unanimously replied, that they would not attend 
him on this expedition, unless he would promise to re- 
store and preserve their privileges ; but John, by mena- 
ces, engaged many of them to follow him into Normandy, 
and obliged the rest to pay the price of their exemption 
from service. The force which the king carried with 
him, and that which joined him in Normandy, rendered 
him greatly superior to the malecontents ; but, elated with 
his superiority, he advanced claims which gave an uni- 
versal alarm to his vassals, and diffused still wider the gen- 
eral discontent. The king of France, to whom the com- 
plainants appealed for redress, interposed in behalf of the 
French barons. 

Whilst matters were thus circumstanced, the duke of 
Brittany, who was rising to man's estate, joined the king 
of France and the revolted nobles. Tmpatient of mihtary 
renown, the young prince had entered Poictou with a 
small army, and had invested Mirabeau, in which was his 
grandmother, queen Eleanor, when John attacked his camp, 
dispersed his army, and took him prisoner. The king 
represented to Arthur the folly of his pretensions, and re- 
quired him to renounce the French alliance ; but the 
brave, though imprudent youth, maintained the justice of 
his cause, and asserted his claim not only to the French 
provinces, but to the crown of England. John, sensible, 
from these symptoms of spirit, that the young prince might 
hereafter prove a dangerous rival, ordered him to be des- 
patched ; but when he found that his commands had not 
been obeyed, the cruel tyrant stabbed him with his own 
hands, and fastening a stone to the dead body, threw it iiito 
the Seine. 6* 



60 HISTORY OP ENGLANDi 

All men were struck with horror at this inhuman deed ; 
and from that moment the king, who was now detested by 
his subjects, retained a very precarious authority over both 
the people and the barons in his dominions. As John had 
got into his power his neice Eleanor, sister to Arthur, the 
Bretons chose for their sovereign Alice, a younger daugh- 
ter of Constantia, by a second marriage. They also soli- 
cited the assistance of Philip, who received their applica- 
don with pleasure, summoned John to a trial, and on his 
non-appearance, declared him to have forfeited to his su- 
perior lord all his fiefs in France. 

The king of France perceived the opportunity favour- 
able for expelliiig the English, or rather the English king, 
and of re-amiexing to the French crown so many consider- 
able appendages, of which, during several ages, it had 
been dismembered. Philip extended his conquests along 
the banks of the Loire, while John consumed his hours 
at Rouen in pastimes and amusements. " Let the French 
go on," said he, " I will retake in a day what it has cost 
them years to acquire." Yet, instead of fulfilling this 
vaunt, he meanly applied to the pope, Innocent in.,who 
ordered Philip to stop the progress of his arms, and to 
conclude a peace with the king of England. Philip, how- 
ever, instead of obeying the orders of the pope, laid 
siege to Chateau Gaillard the most considerable fortress 
jon the frontiers of Normandy, which was taken by a sud- 
den assault in the night. VVlien the bulwark of Nor- 
mandy was once subdued, the whole province was open to 
the inroads of Philip. The French king proceeded to 
invest Rouen, the inhabitants of which demanded thirty 
days to advertise their prince of their danger. Upon the 
expiration of that term they opened their gates ; and 
Philip, leading his victorious army into the western pro- 
vinces, soon reduced Anjou, Maine, Touraine, and part 
of Poictou. John made a feeble attempt to recover his 
transmarine dominions, by landing a considerable army 
at Rochelle ; but the approach of Philip threw him into a 
panic, and he deserted his troops, and returned to England 
with shame and disgrace. The mediation of the pope 
procured him a truce for two years with the French 
irnonarch ; but almost all the transmarine provinces were 
wrested from him : and the church, which, at that time, 



JOHN. 61 

declined not a contest with the most powerful monarchs, 
took advantage of John's imbecility. 

Innocent the Third, a prelate of a lofty and enterpri- 
sing genius, attempted to convert the superiority 
yielded him by all the European princes into a real . I' 
dominion over them. A dispute respecting an 
election to the see of Canterbury, afforded Innocent an 
opportunity of claiming a right to nominate the primate 
of England. Availing himself of this opportunity, he 
commanded the monks or canons of Christ-church, who 
had hitherto possessed that important privilege, to choose, 
on pain of excommunication, cardinal Langton, an Eng- 
lishman by birth, but connected by interest and attach- 
ment to the see of Rome. In vain the monks represented, 
that an election, without a previous wrjt from the king, 
would be highly irregular ; and that they were merely 
agents for another person, whose right they could not 
abandon. One only persevered in his opposition ; the 
rest, overcome by the menaces and authority of the pope, 
complied with his rnandate. 

John was inflamed with the utmost rage when he heard 
of this interference of the court of Kome ; and he imme- 
diately vented his passion on the monks of Christ-church, 
whom he expelled the monastery. When it was intimated 
to him that if he persevered in his disobedience, the sove- 
reign pontiff would be obliged to lay the kingdom under 
an interdict, the king burst out into violent invectives, and 
swore if the pope attempted such a measure, that he would 
send to liim all the bishops and clergy in England, and 
confiscate all their estates. These sallies of passion, how- 
ever, were disregarded by the Roman pontiff, who, sensi- 
ble that John had lost the confidence of the people, at 
length fulminated the sentence of interdict. 

The execution of this sentence was calculated to strike 
with awe the minds of a superstitious people. The nation 
was of a sudden deprived of all exterior exercise of its re- 
ligion ; the altars were despoiled of their ornaments ; the 
dead were not interred in consecrated ground, but were 
thrown into ditches, or buried in common fields ; marriage 
was solemnized in the church-yards ; and every circum- 
stance carried symptoms of the most immediate apprehen- 
sion of divine vengeance. 



62 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

The king, that he might oppose his temporal to their 
spiritual terrors, confiscated the estates of all the clergy 
who obeyed the interdict ; and treated with the utmost 
rigour the adherents of the church of Rome. Though 
some of the clergy, from the dread of punishment, obeyed 
the orders of John, and celebrated divine service, yet they 
complied with the utmost reluctance, and were regarded, 
both by themselves and the people, as men who betrayed 
their principles, and sacrificed their conscience to their 
fears or their interests. 

As the interdict had not reduced the king to obedience, 
and the people had not risen in rebellion, the court 
lonq of Rome determined to proceed to excommunica- 
' tion. John was now alarmed at his dangerous 
situation. In a conference at Dover, he offered to ac- 
knowledge Langton as primate, to submit to the pope, and 
to restore the exiled clergy ; but Langton demanding the 
full reparation for the rents of their confiscated estates, 
the king broke off the conference, innocent immediately 
absolved John's subjects from their oaths of fidelity and 
allegiance ; declared every one excommunicated who held 
any intercourse with him ; deposed him from his throne ; 
and offered the crown of England to the king of France. 

Philip was seduced by interest to accept this offer of the 
pontiff. He levied a great army, and collected in the ports 
of Normandy and Picardy a fleet of one thousand seven 
hundred vessels. To oppose him, John assembled at 
Dover an army of sixty thousand men; a force sufficient, 
had they been animated with zeal ; but the minds of the 
common people were impressed with superstition ; the 
barons were all disgusted with the tyranny of the king ; 
and the incapacity and cowardice of John augmented his 
difficulties. The obstinacy of the humbled monarch at 
length gave way, when Pandolf, the pope's legate, repre- 
sented to him the certainty of his ruin, from the disaffec- 
tion of his subjects, and the mighty armament of France. 
John now agreed to all the conditions which Pandolf was 
pleased to impose. He passed a charter, in which he de- 
clared he had, for the remission of his own sins, and those 
of his family, resigned England and Ireland to God, to 
St. Peter and St. Paul, and to pope Innocent and his suc- 
cessors in the apostolic chair ; agreeing to hold those dorai- 



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John's submission to the Pope. 



JOHN- 63 

nions as feudatories of the church of Rome, by the annual 
payment of a thousand marks. He did homage to Pan- 
dolf in the most abject manner : he fell on his knees be- 
fore the legate, who was seated on a throne ; swore fealty 
to the pope ; and paid part of the money which he owed 
for his kingdom as the patrimony of St. Peter ; whilst the 
legate, elated by the triumph of sacerdotal power, tram- 
pled on the money which was laid at his feet, as an earnest 
of the subjection of the kingdom. 

When Pandolf returned to France, he informed Philip, 
that John had returned to obedience under the apostolic 
see, and even consented to do homage to the pope for his 
dominions ; and that, as his kingdom now formed a part 
of St. Peter's patrimony, it would be impious in any chris- 
tian prince to attack him. Phihp was enraged on receiv- 
ing this intelligence, and threatened to execute his enter- 
prise against England, notwithstanding the inhibitions and 
menaces of the legate ; but the English fleet, under the 
command of the earl of Salisbury, the king's natural bro- 
ther, attacked the French in their harbours, and by the de- 
struction of the greater part of their armament, compelled 
Philip to abandon the enterprise. 

The introduction of the feudal system into England by 
William the conqueror, had mfrmged on the liberties en- 
joyed by the Anglo-Saxons, and had reduced the people 
to a state of vassalage, and in some respects of real slavery, 
to the king or barons. The necessity, also, of entrusting 
great power in the hands of a prince, who was to maintain 
military dominion over a vanquished nation, had engaged 
the Norman barons to submit to a more severe and abso- 
lute prerogative, than that to which men of their rank were 
commonly subjected ; and England, during a course of an 
hundred and fifty years, was governed by an authority un- 
known, in the same degree, to all the kingdoms founded by 
the northern conquerors. Henry the first, that he might 
allure the people to exclude his elder brother, Robert, had 
granted them a charter, favourable, in many particulars, to 
their liberties ; Stephen had renewed the grant ; Henry 
the second had confirmed it ; but the concessions of all 
these princes had remained a dead letter ; when John, 
equally odious and contemptible, both in public and private 
life, provoked the people to form a general confederacy, 
and to demand a restoration of their privileges. 



64' HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

Nothing forwarded this confederacy so much as the con> 
currence of Langton, archbishop of Canterbury ; a man 
whose memory, though he was obtruded on the nation by 
a palpable encroa< hment of the see of Rome, ought always 
to be respected by the English. This prelate formed the 
plan of reforming the government, and paved the way for 
it, by inserting a clause in the oath which he administered 
to the king, before he would absolve him from excommuni- 
cation, " that he would re-establish the good laws of his 
predecessors, and abolish the wicked ones, and maintain 
justice and right in all his dominions." Soon after he 
showed to some of the barons a copy of the charter of 
Henry the first, which, he said, he had found in a monas- 
tery, and exhorted them to insist on its renewal. The ba- 
rons swore they would lose their lives sooner than desist 
from so reasonable a demand. The confederacy now 
spread wider ; and a more numerous meeting was summon- 
ed by Langton at St. Edmund's-Bury, under colour of de- 
votion. The barons, inflamed by the eloquence of the 
prelate, and incited by the sense of their own wrongs, took 
an oath before the altar, to adhere to each other, and to 
make endless war on the king, till he should grant their de- 
mands. They agreed that they would prefer in a body 
their common petition ; and that, in the mean time, they 
would enlist men and purchase arms, and supply their cas- 
tles with necessary provisions. 

On a day appointed, the barons appeared in London, 
and required the king, in consequence of his oath 
,' ' before the primate, as well as in deference to their 
'just rights, to renew the charter of Henry, and con- 
firm the laws of St. Edward. The king, alarmed at their 
zeal and unanimity, as w^ell as their power, asked for a de- 
lay, which was granted. The interval was employed by 
John in appealing to the pope against the violence of the 
barons. Innocent, who foresaw that if the administration 
should fall into the hands of a high-spirited nobility, they 
would vindicate the liberty and independence of the nation, 
exhorted the prelates to employ their good offices in put- 
ting an end to civil discord, expressed his disapprobation 
of the conduct of the barons, and advised the king to grant 
such demands as should appear reasonable. 

Though the barons perceived that the pope was inimical 
fo their interests, yet they had advanced too far to recede 



JOHN. bi> 

irom their pretensions ; and they foresaw, that the thunders 
of Rome, when not seconded by the efforts of the Eng- 
lish ecclesiastics, would avail little against them. At the 
time, therefore, when they were to expect the king's an- 
swer to their petition, they met at Stamford, and assem- 
bled their forces, consisting of about two thousand knights, 
besides retainers and inferior persons without number. — 
Elated with their power, they advanced in a body to Brack- 
ley, within twenty miles of Oxford, the pla^e where the 
court then resided ; and where they received a message 
from the king, desiring to know what those liberties were 
which they so zealously required from their sovereign. 
They delivered to the messenger a schedule, containing 
the chief articles of their demand ; which was no sooner 
shown to John, than he burst into a furious passion, swear- 
ing he would never grant such privileges as must reduce 
himself to slavery. 

The confederated nobles, informed of his answer, pro- 
ceeded without farther ceremony to levy war upon the 
king. They besieged the castle of Northampton, were 
admitted into that of Bedford, occupied Ware, and entered 
London without opposition. They laid waste the royal 
parks and palaces ; and all the barons, who had hitherto 
appeared to support the king, openly joined a cause which 
they had secretly favoured. So universal was the defec- 
tion, that the king was left at Odiham, in Hampshire, with 
a retinue of only seven knights ; and after trying several 
expedients, and offering to refer all differences to the pope, 
he found himself at last obhged to yield without reserve. 

A conference between the king and the barons was held 
at Runnymede, between Windsor and Staines ; a place 
which has ever since been celebrated, on account of that 
great event. After a debate of a few days, the king, with 
a facility rather suspicious, signed and sealed t j,p 19 
the famous deed called magna charta, or the 
GREAT CHARTER, which either granted or secu- 191 e' 
red very important liberties to the clergy, the 
barons, and the people. The articles of this charter con- 
tain such mitigations and explanations of the feudal law 
as are reasonable and equitable ; and also involve all the 
chief outlines of a legal government, providing for the equal 
distribution of justice and the free enjoyment of property. 



66 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

The barons obliged the king to agree that London should 
remain in their hands, and the Tower be consigned to the 
custody of the primate, till the execution of the charter. 
John also allowed the confederates to choose from their 
own body twenty-five members, to whose authority no 
limits were prescribed, either in extent or duration. All 
men throughout the kmgdom were obliged, under the pen- 
alty of confiscation, to swear obedience to the twenty-five 
barons ; and the freeholders of each county were to 
choose twelve knights, who should make reports of such 
evil customs as required redress, conformably to the tenor 
of the great charter. 

John apparently submitted to all these regulations, how- 
ever injurious to majesty ; but he only awaited a proper 
opportunity for annulhng his concessions. He retired to 
the Isle of Wight, where he meditated the most fatal ven- 
geance against his enemies. He secretly sent his emissa- 
ries to enlist foreign troops, and to invite the rapacious 
Brabangons into his service ; and he despatched a mes- 
senger to Rome, to complain, before that tribunal, of the 
violence which had been imposed upon him. Innocent, con- 
sidering himself as feudal lord of the kingdom, issued a 
bull, by which he annulled the whole charter, as unjust in 
itself, and derogatory to the dignity of the apostolic see* 
He prohibited the barons from exacting the observance of 
it ; he prohibited the king from paying any regard to it ; 
and he pronounced a general sentence of excommunica- 
tion against every one who should persevere in maintain- 
ing such iniquitous proceedings. 

As the foreign forces arrived along with this bull, the 
king, under the sanction of the pope's decree,* threw off 
the mask. The barons, enticed into a fatal security, had 
taken no rational measures for re-assembling their armies. 
The king was master of the field ; his rapacious merce- 
naries were let loose against the estates, the tenants, the 
houses, and parks of the nobility ; nothing was %o be seen 
but the flames of villages, and castles reduced to ashes, 
the consternation and misery of the inhabitants, and the 
tortures exercised by the soldiers to cause them to reveal 
their concealed treasures. The king, marching through 

* To the honour of LaogloQ, the primate, be refused to pablisii 
ihe papal mandate. 



JOHN. 67 

the whole extent of England, from Dover to Berwick, 
laid the provinces waste on each side of him, and con- 
sidered every part of the country, which was not his im- 
mediate property, as hostile, and the object of military ex- 
ecution. 

The barons, reduced to this desperate extremity, em- 
ployed a remedy no less desperate. They applied 
to the court of France, and offered to acknowledge ^q^J 
Lewis, the eldest son of Philip, as their sovereign, 
provided he would protect them from the violence of the 
tyrant. The prospect of such a prize rendered Philip re- 
gardless of the menaces of the court of Rome, which threat- 
ened him with excommunication if he attacked a prince un- 
der the protection of the holy see ; but he refused to in- 
trust his son and heir to the caprice of the English, unless 
fhey would deliver to him twenty-five of their most il- 
lustrious nobles, as hostages for their fidelity ; and having 
obtained this security, he sent over Lewis with a numerous 
army. 

In consequence of that young prince's appearance in 
England, John's foreign troops, being mostly levied in 
Flanders, and other provinces of France, refused to serve 
against the heir of their monarchy. Many considerable 
noblemen deserted John's party ; his castles fell daily into 
the hands of the enemy ; and Dover was the only place 
which resisted the progress of Lewis. But the union be- 
tween the English and the French was of short duration ; 
the preference of Lewis to the latter soon excited the jea- 
lousy of the former ; and the French began to apprehend 
a sudden reverse of fortune. The king was assembling a 
considerable army, with an intention of fighting one great 
battle for his crown ; but passing from Lynne to Lincoln- 
shire, his road lay along the sea-shore, which was over- 
flowed at high-water, and not choosing the proper time for 
his journey, he lost in the inundation all his carriages, trea- 
sure, baggage, and regalia. The affliction for this disaster, 
and vexation from the distracted state of his sffairs, in- 
creased an indisposition under which he then laboured ; 
and though he reached the castle of Newark, he soon after 
died, in the forty-ninth year of his age, and the eighteenth 
of his reign. He left two legitimate sons, Henry and Rich- 
ard, the eldest of whom was only nine years old, and the 
other seven. 7 



68 HISTORY OP ENOLAN©. 

The character of John is a complication of vices equal- 
ly mean and odious ; cowardice, levity, licentiousness, in- 
gratitude, treachery, tyranny, and cruelty. It is hard to 
say whether his conduct to his father, his brother, his 
nephew, or his subjects, was most culpable. By his mis- 
. conduct he lost the flourishing provinces of France, the 
ancient patrimony of his family ; he subjected his king- 
dom to a shameful vassalage under the see of Rome ; and 
he died when in danger of being totally expelled by a 
foreign power, and of either ending his life in prison, or 
in seeking shelter as a fugitive from the pursuit of his 
enemies. 



CHAP. V. 

The reigns of Henry III., Edward I., and Edrvard III 

Fortunately for Henry HI., as well as for the nation, 
the earl of Pembroke was, at the time of John's 
1^9 tfi' <^®^^^^' i^areschal of England, and at the head of 
* the armies. This nobleman, who had maintained 
his loyalty to John, was chosen protector of the realm, 
during the king's minority, by a general council of the ba- 
rons. That he might reconcile all men to the government 
of his pupil, he made him grant a new charter of liberties, 
which, though mostly similar to that extorted from John, 
contained some alterations. This was followed by a char- 
ter of forests, which declared offences committed in the 
king's forests no longer capital, but only punishable by fine 
and imprisonment. 

These charters diffused so much satisfaction as evidently 
to aflfect the cause of Lewis. The distrust which the French 
prince manifested of the fidelity of the English, encouraged 
the general propensity towards the king. A large detach- 
ment of the French was routed near Lincoln ; and their 
fleet suffered a considerable defeat off" the coast of Kent. 
After these events, the malcontent barons hastened by an 
early submission to prevent those attainders to which they 
were exposed on account of their rebellion ; and Lewis, 
whose cause was now totally desperate, readily consented 
to conclude a peace on honourable conditions, promising 
to evacuate the kingdom, and only stipulating, in return. 



HENRY III. 



dd 



an ideinnity to his adherents, and a restitution of their 
honours and fortunes. Thus was happily ended a civil 
war, which had threatened the kingdom with the most fatal 
consequences. 

The earl of Pembroke did not long survive the pacifica- 
tion, which had been chiefly owing to his wisdom and va- 
lour ; and he was succeeded in the government by Peter 
des Roches, bishop of Winchester, and Hubert de Burgh, 
the justiciary. The counsels of the latter were chiefly 
followed ; and had he possessed equal influence with Pem- 
broke, he seemed to be every way worthy of filling the 
place of that virtuous nobleman. But the licentious and 
powerful barons, having once broken the reins of subjec- 
tion to their prince, could ill be restrained by laws under 
a minority ; and the people, no less than the king, sufler- 
ed from their outrages. They retained by force the royal 
castles ; they usurped the king's demesnes ; they oppress- 
ed their vassals ; and they protected the worst kind of 
banditti, in their robberies and extortions, in defiance of 
legal government. 

As Henry approached to man's estate, his character be- 
came every day better known, and he was found 
incapable of maintaining a proper authority over jog? 
the turbulent barons. Gentle, humane, and mer- 
ciful, even to a fault, he seems to have been steady in 
nothing else, but to have received every impression from 
those who surrounded him. Without activity or vigour, 
he was unfit to conduct war ; without policy or art, he was 
ill calculated to maintain peace. His resentments, though 
hasty and violent, were not dreaded, while he was found 
to drop them with such facihty ; his friendships were little 
valued, because they were neither derived from choice, nor 
maintained with constancy. ^ 

That able and faithful minister, Hubert de Burgh, was 
in a sudden fit of caprice dismissed by Henry, and exposed 
to the most violent persecutions. Among other frivolous 
crimes objected to him, he was accused of gaining the 
king's affections by enchantments. Hubert was expelled 
the kingdom, and was again received into favour, and re 
covered a great share of the king's confidence ; but he 
never showed any inchnationto reinstate himself in power 
or authority. 



70' filSTdKY or ENGLAND. 

Hubert was succeeded in the government of the king and 
kingdom by Peter, bishop of Winchester, a Poicte- 
foQo "^'in by birth, no less distinguished by his arbitrary 
■ principles and violent conduct, than by his courage 
and abilities. Through his advice, Henry invited over a 
great number of Poictevins, and other foreigners, who, he 
believed, could be more safely trusted than the English. 
Every office was bestowed on these strangers, who ex- 
hausted the revenues of the crown, and invaded the rights 
of the people. A combination of the nobles, formed 
against this odious ministry, was broken by the address of 
Peter ; the estates of the more obnoxious barons were con- 
fiscated, without a legal sentence or trial by their peers ; 
and when the authority of the Great Charter was objected 
to the king, Henry was wont to reply, " Why should I 
observe this charter, which is neglected by all my gran- 
dees, both prelates and nobility ?" To this it was justly 
answered, " You ought, sir, to set them the example." 

So violent an administration as that of the bishop of 
Winchester could not be of long duration ; yet its fall pro- 
ceeded from the church, not from the efforts of the nobles. 
Edmond, the primate, attended by many other prelates, 
represented to the king the pernicious measures of Peter, 
and required the dismission of him and his associates un- 
der pain of excommunication. Henry was obliged to sub- 
mit ; but the English were not long free from the dominion 
of foreigners. The king, having married Eleanor, 
^gFn daughter of the count of Provence, was surrounded 
* by a great number of strangers from that country, 
whom he enriched by the most arbitrary exactions upon hi* 
subjects. 

The foreign enterprises of Henry were equally disgrace- 
ful with his domestic government. In a war with Louis 
IX.jhe was stripped of what remained to him of Poictou. 
His want of economy, and an ill-judged liberality, obliged 
him to sell all his plate and jewels. When this expedient 
was first proposed to him, he asked, where he should find 
purchasers ? It was replied, the citizens of London. 
" On my word," said he, " these clowns who assume to 
themselves the name of barons, abound in every things 
while we are reduced to necessities." 

The grievances under w hich the English laboured from 



HENRY lit. 



h 



the faults of the king, were considerably increased by (he 
usurpations and exactions of the court of Rome. About 
1229, pope Ilonorius demanded, and obtained, the tenth 
of all ecclesiastical revenues. In the year 1 240, Otho the 
legate wrested large sums from the prelates and convents, 
and is said to have carried more money out of the kingdom 
than he left in it. The king, who relied on the pope for 
the support of his tottering authority, never failed to coun- 
tenance those exactions. 

The successful revolt of the barons from king John had 
rendered them more sensible of their own importance. 
The parliament which seems to have had some authority in 
this reign, refused an aid, unless Henry would prom- 
ise, at the same time, a redress of civil and ecclesi- iq^a 
astical grievances, and ratify the great charter in 
the most solemn manner. To this the king consented ; 
but, misled by his favourites, he soon resumed the same 
arbitrary measures of government. 

The conduct of Henry afforded a pretence to Simon de 
Montfort, earl of Leicester, for attempting to wrest 
the sceptre from the feeble hand which held it. ^oro 
This nobleman had espoused Eleanor, dowager to 
William earl of Pembroke, and sister to the king. His 
address gained him the affections of all orders of men ; 
but he lost the friendship of Henry from the usual levity 
and fickleness of that prince. He was banished the court, 
recalled, and again disgraced by the king. Being too great 
to preserve an entire complaisance to Henry's humours, 
and to act in subserviency to the minions of that prince, 
he found more advantage in cultivating his interests with 
the public, and in inflaming the general discontents. He 
filled every place with complaints against the infringement 
of the great charter ; and a quarrel which he had with 
William de Valence, the king's half-brother, and chief fa- 
vourite, determined him to give full scope to his ambition. 
He secretly called a meeting of the most considerable 
barons, particularly Humphrey de Bohun, high consta- 
ble, Roger Bigod, earl mareschal, and the earls of War- 
wick and Gloucester. To them he exaggerated the op- 
pressions exercised against the lower orders of the state, 
the violations of the barons' privileges, and the continual 
depredations made on the clergy ; and he appealed to 



)^ HISTORY OP £NGLAND< 

the great charter which Henry had so often ratified, and 
which was calculated to prevent the return of those griev- 
ances. He magnified the generosity of their ancestors, 
who at the expense of their blood had extorted that famous 
concession from the crown ; but he lamented their own 
degeneracy, who allowed so important an advantage to be 
wrested from them by a weak prince and insolent para- 
sites. 

These topics were well suited to the sentiments of the 
company, and the barons embraced a resolution of redress- 
ing the public grievances, by taking into their own hands 
the administration of government. Henry having sum' 
moned a parliament, the barons appeared in the hall clad 
in complete armour, and with their swords by their sides. 
The king struck with their unusual appearance, asked, 
whether they intended to make him their prisoner 1 Roger 
Bigod replied in the name of the rest, " That he was not 
their prisoner, but their sovereign ; but that, as he had fre- 
quently acknowledged his past errors, and had still allow- 
ed himself to be carried in the same path, he must now 
yield to more strict regulations, and confer authority on 
those who were able and willing to redress the national 
grievances." Henry, partly allured by the hope of sup- 
ply, partly intimidated by the union and martial appear- 
ance of the barons, agreed to their demand, and promised 
to summon another parliament at Oxford, in order to di- 
gest the new plan of government. 

This parliament, which, from the confusion that attend- 
ed its measures, was afterwards denominated the " mad 
parliament," chose twelve barons, to whom were added 
twelve more from the king's ministers. To these twenty- 
four unlimited authority was granted to reform the state ; 
and as Leicester was at the head of this supreme council. 
to which the legislative power was in reality transferred, 
all their measures were taken by his influence and direc- 
tion. They ordered that four knights should be chosen 
by each county, who should inquire into the grievances 
of the people, and inform the assembly of the state of their 
particular counties ; that three sessions of parliament 
s,should be regularly held every year ; that a new sherift^ 
should be annually elected by the votes of the freeholders 
of each county ; that no heirs should be committed to the 



HENRY HI. 73 

wardship of foreigners, and no castles intrusted to their 
custody ; and that no new warrens or forests should be 
created, nor the revenues of any counties or hundreds be 
let to farm. 

The earl of Leicester and his associates, having pro- 
ceeded so far to satisfy the nation, instead of continuing in 
this popular course, or granting the king those supplies 
which they had promised, provided for the extension of 
their own authority. They displaced all the chief officers 
of the crown ; and advanced either themselves or their 
own creatures in their place. The whole power of the 
state being thus transferred to them, they obliged every 
man to swear, that they would obey and execute all the 
regulations of the twenty-four barons ; and they chose a 
committee of twelve persons, who, during the intervals of 
the sessions, were to possess the whole authority of par- 
liament. 

But the stream of popularity rapidly turned against them. 
Whatever support the barons might have derived from the 
private power of their families, was weakened by their 
intestine jealousies and animosities. A violent enmity 
broke out between the earls of Leicester and Gloucester ; 
the latter, more moderate in his desigus, was desirous of 
stopping or retarding the usurpations of the barons ; but 
the former, enraged at the opposition he met with in his 
own party, pretended to throw up all concern in English 
affairs, and retired into France. 

On the death of the earl of Gloucester, who, before his 
decease, had joined the royal party, Leicester en- 
tered into a confederacy with Llewellyn, prince of ^q/^J 
Wales. Llewellyn invaded England with an army 
of thirty thousand men, but was repulsed, and obliged to 
take shelter in the north of Wales. The W^elsh invasion was 
the signal for the malcontent barons to rise in arms. Lei- 
cester secretly passed over into England, collected all the 
forces of his party, and commenced an open rebellion. 
The power of Leicester's faction increased to such a height, 
that the king, unable to resist it, was obliged to seek an ac- 
commodation. He agreed to confirm the provisions of Ox- 
ford, and reinstated the barons in the sovereignty of the 
kingdom. The latter summoned a parliament to meet at 
Westminster, in order to settle the plan of government ; 



74 biSTORV OF ENG"LANP. 

and, in that assembly, they produced a new list of twentyr 
four barons, whose authority they insisted should continue 
not only during the reign of the king, but also during that 
6f prince Edward. 

This prince, the life and soul of the royal party, had 
been taken prisoner by Leicester in a parley at Windsor ; 
knd that event had chiefly determined Henry to submit to 
the ignominious conditions imposed on him by the barons. 
Edward, however, having recovered his liberty by the 
treaty, employed his activity in defending the prerogatives 
of his family. The number of his friends, and the clamour 
of the people for peace, obliged the earl of Leicester to 
consent to a second negotiation ; and it was agreed by 
both sides to submit their differences to the arbitration of 
the king of France. 

This virtuous prince had never ceased to interpose his 
good offices between the English factions ; and at Amiens, 
in the presence of the states of France, of the king of 
England, and of Peter de Montfort, Leicester's son, he 
brought this great cause to a trial. He annulled the pro- 
visions of Oxford, restored to the king the possession of 
his castles, and the nomination of the great offices ; but 
he ordered that a general amnesty should be granted for 
all past offences, and declared that his award was in no 
wise meant to derogate from the privileges and liberties 
which the nation enjoyed by any former charters. 

This equitable sentence was rejected by Leicester and 
his confederates, who determined to have recourse 

A. D 

12fi4. *^ arms, in which they were assisted by the city of 
London. The king and the prince, finding a civil 
war inevitable, prepared themselves for defence, and sum- 
moned to their standard their military vassals ; while Lei- 
cester, having been re-enforced by a great body of London- 
ers, determined to stake the fate of the nation on a deci- 
sive engagement. Leicester conducted his march with so 
much skill and secrecy, that he had nearly surprised the 
royalists in their quarters at Lewes in Sussex ; but the vi- 
gilance and activity of prince Edward soon repaired this 
negligence. With the van he rushed upon the Londoners, 
who, from their ignorance of discipline, and want of ex- 
{)erience, were ill fitted to resist the ardour of Edward and 
Jite martial companions : they were broken in an instant: 



HENRY <I. 1^5 

and chased off the field for four miles. But when Ed- 
ward returned from the pursuit, he was astonished to find 
the ground covered with the dead bodies of his friends, 
and still more to hear that his father, and his uncle Richard, 
kinor of the Romans, had been defeated and taken pri-^ 
soners. In this exigency, the gallant prince was obliged 
to submit to Leicester's terms, which were laconic and 
severe. He stipulated, that Edward, and Henry d'All- 
maine, the son of the king of the Romans, should surren- 
der themselves pledges in lieu of the two kings ; that all 
other prisoners on both sides should be released ; and that 
the king of France should name six Frenchmen, who 
should choose two others of their own country ; and these 
two should appoint one Enghshman, and that these three 
persons should be invested with full powers to make what 
regulations they should deem necessary for the settlement 
of the kingdom. 

The prince and young Henry accordingly delivered 
themselves into Leicester's hands, who sent them under a 
guard to Dover castle ; but he had no sooner got the whole 
royal family in his power, than he openly violated every 
article of the treaty, and acted as sole master, and even 
tyrant of the kingdom. No farther mention was made of 
the reference to the king of France ; and Leicester sum- 
moned a parliament, composed altogether of his own par- 
tisans, who voted the royal power should be exercised by 
nine persons to be chosen and removed by the majority of 
three, Leicester himself, the earl of Gloucester, and the 
bishop of Chichester. By this plan of government, the 
sceptre was really put into Leicester's hands, as he had the 
entire direction of the bishop of Chichester. Leicester, 
however, summoned a new parliament in London. Be- 
sides the barons of his own party, and several ecclesias- 
tics, he ordered returns to be made of two knights from 
each shire, and what is more remarkable, of deputies from 
the boroughs, an order of men, which in former ages had 
a.lways been regarded as too mean to enjoy a place ^ ^ 
in the national councils. This period is commonly ^'^q^ 
esteemed the epoch of the house of commons in 
England, and it is certainly the first time that historians 
^peak of any representatives sent to parliament from tht? 
buroughs. 



76 HISTORV OF ENGLAND. 

The earl of Gloucester, becoming disgusted with the ar- 
bitrary conduct of Leicester, retired for safety to his es- 
tates on the borders of Wales; Leicester followed him 
with an army to Hereford ; and that he might add authori- 
ty to his cause, he carried both the king and prince along 
with him. The earl of Gloucester here concerted with 
young Edward the manner of that prince's escape. He 
furnished him with a swift horse, and appointed a small 
party to receive the prince, and guard him to a place of 
safety. Edward pretended to take the air with some of 
his guards ; and making matches between their horses 
until he thought he had tired them, he suddenly mounted 
Gloucester's horse, bade them adieu, and reached his 
friends. 

The royalists, secretly prepared for this event, immedi- 
ately flew to arms. Leicester finding himself in a remote 
quarter of the kingdom, surrounded by his enemies, and 
barred from all communication with his friends by the 
Severn, whose bridges Edward had broken down, wrote 
to his son, Simon de Montfort, to hasten from London with 
an army for his relief Simon had advanced to Kenil- 
worth with that view, where, fancying that all Edward's 
force and attention were directed against his father, he lay 
secure and unguarded ; but the prince, making a sudden 
and forced march, surprised him in his camp, dispersed 
his army, and took the earl of Oxford and many other no- 
blemen prisoners, almost without resistance. Leicester, 
ignorant of his son's fate, passed the Severn in boats du- 
ring Edward's absence, and lay at Evesham, in expecta- 
tion of being every hour joined by his friends from Lon- 
don ; when the prince, who availed himself of every fa- 
vourable moment, appeared in the field before him. The 
battle immediately began, though on very unequal terms, 
Leicester's army, by living on the mountains of Wales 
without bread, which was not then much used among the 
inhabitants, had been extremely weakened by sickness 
and desertion, and was soon broken by the victorious roy- 
alists ; while his Welsh allies, accustomed only to a de- 
sultory kind of war, immediately took to flight, and were 
pursued with great slaughter. Leicester himself, asking 
for quarter, was slain in the heat of the action, with his 
ddest son, Henry, Hugh le Despenser, and about an hun- 



HENRY lir. 7/ 

dred and sixty knights, and many other gentlemen of his 
party. The old king had been purposely placed by the 
rebels in the front of the battle ; and being clad in armour, 
and thereby not known by his friends, he received a wound, 
and was in danger of his life : but crying out, " I am Hen- 
iry of Winchester, your king," he was rescued and carried 
to a place of safety. 

The victory of Evesham, with the death of Leicester, 
proved decisive in favour of the royalists ; but they 
used it with moderation. No sacrifices of national - * ' 
liberty were made on this occasion ; the great 
charter remained inviolate ; and they carefully abstained 
from all those exertions of power, which had afforded so 
plausible a pretext to the rebels. The mild disposition of 
the king, and the prudence of the prince, tempered the in- 
solence of victory. 

Prince Edward, finding the state of the kingdom tolera- 
bly composed, was impelled by his avidity for glo- 
ry, by the prejudices of the age, and by the earnest ^^«^' 
solicitations of the king of France, to undertake 
an expedition against the infidels in the Holy Land. He 
sailed from England with an army ; but when he arrived 
at Tunis, he found Lewis had died from the heat of the 
climate and the fatigues of the enterprise. Not discour- 
aged, however, by this event, he continued his voyage to 
the Holy Land, where he signalized himself by acts of 
valour, and revived the glory of the English name. 

In the mean time his absence from England was produc- 
tive of the most fatal consequences ; the laws were not 
executed ; the barons oppressed the common people 
with impunity ; and the populace of London returned to 
their usual licentiousness. The old king, unequal to the 
burthen of public affairs, called aloud for his gallant son 
to return, and to assist him in swaying that sceptre which 
was ready to drop from his feeble and irresolute hands. 
At last, overcome by the cares of government, and the in- 
firmities of age, he visibly declined, and expired at Ed- 
mondsbury, in the sixty-fourth year of his age, and fifty- 
sixth of his reign ; the longest reign that is to be met with 
in the English annals, except that of our late sovereign. He 
left two sons, Edward, his successor, and Edmond earl of 
Lancaster ; and two daughters, Margaret queen of Scot 



78 HISTOtlY OF ENGLANJP. 

land, and Beatrix duchess of Brittany. The most obvious 
<iircumstance of Henry's character is, his incapacity for 
|overnment, which rendered him as much a prisoner in thfe 
hands of his ministers and favourites, as when a captive 
in the hands of his enemies. From this source, rather than 
from insincerity or treachery, arose his neghgence in ob- 
serving his promises. Hence, too, were derived his pro- 
fusion to favourites, his attachment to strangers, the varia- 
bleness of his conduct, his hasty resentments, and the sud- 
den return of affection. Greater abiUties with his good 
dispositions would have prevented him from faUing into, 
his faults ; or, with worse dispositions, would have enabled 
him to maintain them. 

Edward had reached Sicily in his return from the Holy 

Land, where he had been wounded with a poison- 

I 'ii' ous dagger, when he received intelligence of the 

' death of his father. As he was assured of the 

quiet settlement of the kingdom, he was in no hurry to 

take possession of the throne, but spent near a year in 

France, and did homage to Philip for the dominions which 

he held in that country. At length he arrived in England, 

where he was received with the most joyful acclamatious, 

and was solemnly crowned at Westminster, by Robert, 

archbishop of Canterbury. 

The king immediately applied himself to correct those 
disorders which civil commotions had introduced. By a 
rigid execution of the laws, he gave protection to the infe- 
rior orders of the state, and diminished the arbitrary power 
of the barons. He appointed a commission to inquire 
into crimes of all kinds ; and the adulteration of the 
coin of the realm being imputed chiefly to the Jews, he let 
loose on them the whole rigours of his justice. In Lon- 
don alone, two hundred and eighty of them were hanged 
at once for this crime ; fifteen thousand w^ere robbed 
of their effects, and banished the kingdom ; and since 
that period they have never been so numerous in Eng- 
land. 

Llewellyn, prince of Wales, had entered into all the 
conspiracies of the Montfort faction against the 

* ^' crown, and refusing to do homage to the new king, 
* Edward levied an army to reduce him to obe- 
dience. Llewellyn retired among the hills of Snowdon ; 



EDWARD I. 79 

but Edward pierced into the heart of the country, and 
obliged him to submit at discretion. He did homage, and 
permitted his barons to swear fealty to the crown of Eng- 
land ; and he also relinquished the country between Che- 
shire and the river Conway. However, the insolence of 
the English, who oppressed the inhabitants of the districts 
ceded to them, raised the indignation of the Welsh, who 
again took to arms. Edward advanced into Wales with 
an army which could not be resisted. Llewellyn was sur- 
prised and slain, with two thousand of his followers ; and 
his brother David, after being chased from hill to hill, was 
at last betrayed to the enemy. Edward sent him in chains 
to Shrewsbury ; and bringing him to a formal trial before 
all the peers of England, he ordered this sovereign prince 
to be hanged as a traitor, for defending the liberties of his 
native country. The Welsh nobility submitted io the con- 
queror ; and the laws of England were established through- 
out the principality. 

The king, sensible, that nothing cherished military glory 
and valour so much as traditional poetry, collected 
all the Welsh bards, and barbarously ordered them -,qoa 
to be put to death. It is said that Edward promised 
to give the Welsh a prince, a Welshman by birth ; and 
that he invested in the principality his son Edward, then 
an infant, who had been born at Caernarvon. Thus Wales 
was fully annexed to the crown ; and henceforth gives a 
title to the eldest son of the kings of England. 

Edward had contracted his son to Margaret, the heir to 
the Scottish throne, and by this means hoped to unite 
the whole island into one monarchy ; but this pro- igqi 
ject failed of success by the sudden death of that 
princess ; and the vacant throne was claimed both by John 
Baliol and Robert Bruce. Each of the two claimants pos- 
sessed numerous adherents ; and in order to prevent a 
civil war, it was agreed on to submit the dispute to the ar- 
bitration of the king of England. The temptation was too 
strong for the virtue of Edward. He prepared to lay hold 
of the present opportunity, to revive, if not to create, his 
claim of a feudal superiority over Scotland. Accompa- 
nied by a great army, he advanced to the frontiers, and 
invited the Scottish parliament and the competitors to at- 
tend him in the castle of Norham, on the southern bank of 

8 



80 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

the Tweed. He informed them that he was com© thither 
to determine the right of the two competitors to their 
crown ; that he was resolved to do strict justice to each 
party ; and that he was entitled to this authority, not in 
virtue of the reference made to him, but in quality of Hege 
lord of the kingdom. 

The Scottish barons were moved with indignation at 
the injustice of this unexpected claim: but they found 
themselves betrayed into a situation, in which it was im- 
possible for them to make any defence for the indepen- 
dence of their country ; and the king interpreting their 
silence into consent, addressed himseh" to the competitors, 
and previously to his pronouncing sentence, required their 
acknowledgment of his superiority. At length, after long 
deliberations, Edward pronounced in favour of Baliol, to 
whom, upon renewing his oath of fealty to England, all 
the Scottish fortresses were restored. However, he pro- 
ceeded in such a manner, as made it evident that he aimed 
at the absolute dominion of the kingdom. He encouraged 
appeals to England ; and obliged king John to appear at 
the bar of his parliament as a private person. Baliol, 
though a prince of gentle disposition, was greatly pro- 
voked at this usage ; he determined at all hazards to vin- 
dicate his liberties ; and the war which soon after broke 
out between France and England afforded him a favoura- 
h\e opportunity. 

A petty quarrel between a Norman and English sailor 
had been speedily inflamed into a national enmity. 
^' ^' Barbarities were committed on the crews of Nor- 
^^^^' man and EngUsh vessels ; the sea became a scene 
of piracy between the two nations ; and so numerous were 
the fleets engaged, that fifteen thousand Frenchmen are 
reported to have perished in one action. Philip sent an en- 
voy to demand reparation ; but not obtaining sufficient sa- 
tisfaction, he summoned Edward as his vassal, to appear 
in his court at Paris, and answer for these oflfences ; and 
®n his refusal, Guienne, by a formal decree, was decla- 
red forfeited, and annexed to the crown of France. 
Some impression was made on Guienne by an English 
army, which Edward raised by emptying the jails, but 
which was soon after defeated with great slaughter ; and 
England was at the same time menaced with an invasion 



EDWARD I. St 

from France and from Scotland, whose kings had entered 
into a secret alliance. 

The expenses attending these wars obliged Edward to 
have frequent recourse to parliamentary supplies, 
and to introduce into the public councils the lower ioqc 
orders of the state. He issued writs to the sheriffs, 
enjoining them to send to parliament, along with two 
knights of the shire, two deputies from each borough ;* 
*' as it is a most equita'.le rule," says he, " that what 
concerns all should be approved of by all, and common 
dangers be repelled by united efforts." I'his noble prin- 
ciple seems to indicate a liberal mind in the king, and to 
have laid the foundation of a free and equitable govern- 
ment ; and from this period may be dated the regular es- 
tablishment of the different branches composing the house 
of commons, the precedent of Leicester in the former 
reign being rather an act of violence than of authority. 

Edward employed the supplies granted him by 
his people, in making preparations against the hos- ^ciqfi 
tilities of his northern neighbours- He summoned 

* The ctiarg-es it in.' Je^juUcs wei\. borne by the botuug^h which 
sent them. They i^ei apart from (he barons and knights, who 
distiained to mix with such mean lersooages. After they had 
given their consent to tlie tcixes required of them, they separa- 
ted, even though the parliament runtinued to sit. However, the 
unioa of the represeniatives from the boroughs gave »Taduaily 
more weight tc the whole order ; and it became customary for 
them, in eturu for the supplies which they granted, to prefer 
petitions {,, the crown for the redress of any particular grievance; 
and the king, by addmg to the petitions the sanction of his author- 
ity, bestowed validity upon them. But it was soon discovered, that 
no laws could be fixed for one order of men, without affecting 
the whole: and the house of peers, therefore, with reason, ex- 
pected that their assent should be expressly granted to all public 
ordinances. 

With the most frequent partition of property, the knights and 
lesser barons sunk mio a rank still more inferior to the great no- 
bility ; while the growth of commerce augmented the private 
wealth and consideration of the burgesses ; and as they resem- 
bled iht' knights of shires m representing particular bodies of 
men, it no longer appeared unsuitable to unite them together in 
the same house, and to confound their rights and privileges. 
This event took place in the 16th of Edward III. or forty-eight 
years from the time when Burgesses were first summoned to 
parliament. Thus the third estate, that of the commons, reach- 
ed at length its present form; it gradually increased in impor- 
tance ; and in it* progress made arts and commerce, the neces9a» 
ry attendants of liberty and equal rights, flourish in the kingdom* 



82 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

John to appear before him as his vassal ; and on his refu- 
sal, he marched with thirty thousand foot and four thou- 
sand horse to chastise his contumacy. Some of the most 
considerable of the Scottish nobles endeavoured to ingra- 
tiate themselves with Edward by an early submission ; 
and the king crossed the Tweed without opposition, took 
Berwick by assault, and detached the earl of Warrenne 
with twelve thousand men to besiege Dunbar. The 
Scots, who advanced against Warrenne with their main 
army, were defeated with the loss of tvv^enty thousand 
men. Dunbar surrendered ; and after a feeble resistance, 
the castles of Edinburgh and Stirling opened their gates 
to the English. All the southern parts were immediately 
subdued. The spirit of the nation was brcken by mis- 
fortunes ; and the feeble and timid Baliol hastened to 
make his submission, and solemnly resigned his crown 
into the hands of Edward. That sovereign marched to 
Aberdeen and Elgin without opposition ; and having re- 
duced the whole kingdom to an apparent state of tran- 
quillity, he returned to the south. Earl Warrenne was left 
governor of Scotland. Baliol was carried to London, and 
lay two years in the Tower, and then submitted to a vol- 
untary banishment to France, where he died in a private 
station. 

Edward was '^lot equally successful in his attempt to 
recover Guienne ; and, at length, he and Philip agreed to 
submit their differences to the arbitration of Pope Boni- 
face. This was the last of the sovereign pontiffs 
i oqo that exercised any authority over the temporal juris- 
* diction of princes ; and these exhorbitant preten- 
sions, which he had been tempted to assume from the 
successful example of his predecessors, but of which the 
season was now passed, involved him in so many calami- 
ties, and were attended with so unfortunate a catastrophe, 
that they have been secretly abandoned, though never 
openly relinquished, by his successors in the apostolic chair. 
Edward and Philip, equally jealous of papal claims, took 
care to insert in their reference, that Boniface was made 
judge of their differences by their consent, as a pri- 
vate person, not by any right of his pontificate ; and the 
pope, without seeming to be offended at this mortifying 
clause, proceeded to give a sentence between them, in 
which they both acquiesced. He brought them to agree 



EDWARD i* 13 

that their union should be cemented by a double marriage ; 
that of Edward himself, who now was a widower, with 
Margaret, Phihp's sister ; and that of the prince of Wales 
with Isabella, daughter of that monarch. Philip was like- 
wise wilHng to restore Guienne to the English ; and Ed- 
ward agreed to abandon his ally the earl of Flanders, on 
condition that Philip should treat in like manner his ally 
the king of Scots. The prospect of conquering these two 
countries, whose situation made them so commodious an 
acquisition to the respective kingdoms, prevailed over all 
other considerations ; and though they were both finally 
disappointed in their hopes, thtir conduct was very recon- 
cilable to the principles of an interested policy. 

Warrenne retiring into England, on account of his bad 
state of health, left the administration of bcotland entirely 
in the hands of Orrnsby the justiciary, and Cressingham 
the treasurer. The former distinguised himself by his 
severity ; the latter had no other ol>ject than the amassing 
of money by rapine, and injustice. They treated the Scots 
as a conquered people ; and, in consequence, the bravest 
and most generous spirits of the nation were exasperated 
to the highest degree against the English government. 

Among these was William V\ allace, a man descended 
from an ancient family, whose courage prompted him to 
undertake, and enabled him finally to accomphsh, the de- 
liverance of his native country. Finding himself obnox- 
ious to the administration, he Lad fled into the woods, and 
offered himself as a leader to all those whom their crimes, 
or bad fortune, or avowed hatred to the English, had re- 
duced to the same necessity. He was endowed with gi- 
gantic force, with heroic courage, and patience to bear, 
hunger, fatigue, and all the severities of the seasons. Be- 
ginning with small attem{)ts, he gradually proceeded t© 
more momentous enterprises ; and he discovered equal 
prudence in securing his followers, and valour in annoy- 
ing the enemy. All who thirsted after mihtary fame, or 
felt the flame of patriotism, were desirous to partake his 
renown: and he seemed to vindicate the nation from the 
ignominy into which it had fallen by its tame submission to 
the English. 

Wallace resolved to strike a decisive blow against the 
English government, and concerted the plan of attaclang 

8* 



M ^ HISTORY #F ENGLANDc 

Ormsby at Scone ; but the justiciary, apprised of his in>^ 
tentions, fled hastily into England, and all the other offi' 
cers of Edward followed his example. Their terror add- 
ed courage to the Scots, who took up arms in every quar- 
ter. Warrenne, collected an army of forty thousand men 
in the north of England, advanced to Stirling, and found 
Wallace encamped on the opposite banks of the Forth. 
He prepared to attack the Scots in that position, and or- 
dered his army to cross a bridge which lay over the Forth. 
Wallace, allowing a number of the English to pass, at- 
tacked them before they could be formed, and pushed 
them into the river, or destroyed them with the sword. 
Warrenne was obliged to retire into England ; and Wal- 
lace, after receiving from his followers the title of guar- 
dian, or regent, broke into the northern counties of Eng- 
land, and extended his ravages to the bishopric of Dur- 
ham. 

Edward, who received in Flanders intelligence of these 
events, hastened his return ; and having collected the 
whole military force of England, Wales, and Ireland, he 
marched with an army of nearly a hundred thousand men 
to the northern frontiers. The Scots were distracted by 
faction and animosity. The elevation of Wallace was the 
object of envy to the nobility ; and that hero, sensible of 
their jealousy, and dreading the ruin of his country from 
those intestine discordc, voluntarily resigned his authority, 
and retained only the command over that body of follow- 
ers, who, being accustomed to victory under his standard, 
refused to follow into the field any other leader. The 
chief power devolved on the steward of Scotland, and 
Cummin of Badenach, men of eminent birth, who fixed 
their station at Falkirk, where they purposed to abide the 
assault of the English. 

The English archers, who began about this time to sur- 
pass those of other nations, first chased the Scottish bow- 
men off the field, afterwards threw the pikemeninto disor- 
der, and thus rendered the assault of the English lancers and 
cavalry more easy and successful. The whole Scottish 
army was broken, and driven off the field with prodigious 
slaughter. In this general route Walace kept his troops 
entire ; and retiring behind the Carron, he marched leis- 
urely along the banks of that river. Young Kobert 



^ EDWARD I. S5 

Bruce, the grandson and heir of him who had been com- 
petitor for the throne, who, in the service of England, had 
already given many proofs of his aspiring genius, appear- 
ed on the opposite banks ; and distinguished the Scottish 
chief, he called to him, and desired a short conference* 
He represented to Wallace the fruitless and ruinous enter* 
prise in which he was engaged, and the unequal contest 
between a weak state, deprived of its head and agitated 
by intestine discord, and a mighty nation conducted by 
the ablest and most, martial monarch of the age. If the 
love of his country was his motive for perseverance, his 
obstinacy tended only to prolong her misery ; if he car- 
ried his views to private grandeur and ambition, he ought 
to reflect, that so many haughty nobles, proud of the pre- 
eminence of their families, would never submit to personal 
merit. To these exhortations Wallace replied, that, if he 
had hitherto acted alone as the chtimpion of his country^ 
it was because no leader had yet appeared to place him- 
self in that honourable station ; that the blame lay entire- 
ly with the nobility, and chiefly with Bruce himself, who, 
uniting personal merit to dignity of family, had deserted 
the post which both nature and fortune invited him to as- 
sume ; that the Scots, possessed of such a leader, might 
hope successfully to oppose all the powers and abihties of 
Edward ; and that as for himself, he was desirous that 
his own life, as well as the existence of the nation, 
might terminate when they could not otherwise be pre- 
served, than by receiving the chains of a haughty victor. 
The gallantry of these sentiments was felt by the generous 
mind of Bruce ; and he secretly determined to seize the 
first opportunity of embracing the cause of his oppressed 
country. 

The battle of Falkirk had not completed the subjectio« 
of the Scots. They chose for their regent John 
Cummin, who surprised the English army, and ^gnq 
routed them after an obstinate conflict ; and it be- 
came necessary for Edward to begin anew the conquest of 
the kingdom. 

The king prepared himself for the enterprise with his 
usual vigour and abilities. He marched victorious from 
one extremity of Scotland to the other, and compelled 
even Cummin himself to submit to his authority. To 



$(^ HISTOHY OF ENGLANt). 

render bis acquisition durable, he abrogated all the laws 
and customs of Scotland, endeavoured to substitute those 
of England in their place, entirely raised or destroyed all 
the monuments of antiquity, and hastened wholly to abo- 
lish the Scottish name. 

Wallace himself was at length betrayed into Edward's 
hands, by his friend Sir John Monteith ; and the 
. * * king, whose natural bravery and magnanimity 
should have indu'ced him to respect similar quali- 
ties in an enemy, resolved to overawe the Scots by an ex- 
ample of severity. He ordered the hero to be carried in 
chains to London ; to l)e tried as a rebel and a traitor, 
though he had never sworn fealty to England ; and to be 
executed on Tower-hiil. Such was the unworthy fate of 
Wallace, who, through the course of several years, with 
signal conduct, intrepidity, and perseverance, defended, 
against a public and oppressive enemy, the liberties of his 
native country. 

The barbarous policy of Edward failed of the object to 
which it was directed. The Scots were enraged at 
1 koP, ^^® injustice and cruelty exercised on their gallant 
chief; and it was not long ere a more fortunate 
leader presented himself to conduct them to victory and 
to vengeance. Robert Bruce, whose conference with 
Wallace on the banks of the Carron has been already no- 
ticed, determined to revive the pretensions of his family, 
and to aspire to the vacant throne. Edward, being appriz- 
ed of his intentions, ordered all his motions to be strictly 
watched. An intimate friend of Bruce, not daring, amidst 
many jealous eyes, to hold any conversation with him, 
sent him by his servant a pair of gilt spars and a purse of 
gold, which he pretended to have borrowed from him ; and 
left it to his sagacity to discover the meaning. Bruce im- 
mediately contrived to escape, and in a few days arrived 
at Dumfries, the chief seat of his family interest, where he 
found a great number of the Scottish nobility assembled, 
and among the rest John Cummin, with whom he had for- 
merly lived in strict intimacy. 

The noblemen were astonished at the appearance of 
Bruce among them ; and still more when he told them, 
that he was come to live or die with them in defence of 
the liberties of his country. These generous sentiments, 
assisted by the graces of his youth and manly deportment, 



&DWARD II. S7 

impressed the minds of his audience ; and they resolved 
to use their utmost efforts in dehvering their country from 
bondage. Cummin alone, who had secretly taken his 
measures with the king, opposed this general determina- 
tion ; and Bruce, already apprized of his treachery, fol- 
lowed Cummin on the dissolution of the assembly, and at- 
tacking him in the cloisters of the Grey Friars, ran him 
through the body. 

The murder of Cummin sealed the conspiracy of the 
Scottish nobles. The genms of the nation roused itself: 
and Bruce was solemnly crowried at Scone by the bishop 
of St. Andrews. The Enghsh were again expelled the 
kingdom ; and Edward found, that the Scots, twice con- 
quered in his reign, must yet be afresh subdued. To ef- 
fect this, he assembled a great army, and was pre- 
paring to enter the frontiers, when he unexpectedly , oq^' 
sickened and died near Carlisle, in the sixty-ninth 
year of his age and the thirty-fifth of his reign. With his 
last breath he enjoined his son and his successor to prose- 
cute the enterprise, and never to desist till he had finally 
subdued the kingdom of Scotland. 

Edv/ard II. was in the twenty-third year of his age rthhw 
he ascended the throne. He was of an agreeable figure, 
and of a mild and gentle disposition ; but the first act of 
his reign blasted the hopes which the English had enter- 
tained of him. Equally incapable of, and averse to busi- 
ness, he entered Scotland only to retreat : he disbanded his 
army, without attackmg Bruce : and by this conduct, he 
convinced the barons that the authority of the crown was 
no longer to be dreaded, and that they were at hberty to 
practise every insolence with impunity. 

Piers Gaveston, the son of a Gascon knight, by his in- 
sinuating address, his elegance of form, and his lively wit, 
had gained an entire ascendant over the young Edward ; 
and the late king, apprehensive of the consequences, had 
banished him the kingdom, and made his son promise never 
to recall him. No sooner, however, did the young Edward 
ascend the throne, than he recalled Gaveston, gave him the 
whole earldom of Cornwall, married him to his ownniecCf 
and seemed to enjoy no pleasure in his royal dignity, but 
as it enabled him to exalt this object of his fond affec- 
tions, The haughty barons were offended at the superi- 



SS HISTORY OF EN6LANB. 

ority of a minion, whose birth they despised, and wh« 
eclipsed them in pomp and splendour. In a journey t« 
France, to espouse the princess Isabella, Edward left 
Gaveston guardian of the realm ; but on his return with 
the young queen, Isabella, who was of an imperious and 
intriguing disposition, finding her husband's capacity re- 
quired to be governed, thought herself best entitled t© 
perform the office, and was well pleased to see a combi- 
nation of the nobility formed against the favourite. 

Thomas, earl of Lancaster, cousin-german to the king, 
was ai the head of the party among the barons, 
ISOfi *! h^t nobleman entering the parliament with his 
' adherents in arms, required the banishment of Ga- 
veston ; and Edward was obliged to submit ; but instead 
of sending him to his own country, he appointed him lord- 
lieutenant of Ireland. 

The king, unhappy in the absence of his minion, em- 
ployed exery expedient to soften the opposition of the ba- 
rons to his return ; and deeming matters sufficiently pre- 
pared for his purpose, he ventured to recall Gaveston, and 
went to Chester to receive him on his first landing from 
Ireland. However, in defiance of the laws and the king's 
prohibition, the barons, with a numerous retmue of armed 
followers, compelled Edward to devolve on a chosen junto 
the whole authority, both of the crown and the parhament ; 
and among other regulations sanctioned by this committee, 
Gaveston was for ever banished the king's dominions. 

As soon, however, as Edward, by removing to York, 
had freed himself from the barons' power, he recalled Ga- 
veston from Flanders ; and the barons, highly provoked 
at this measure, flew to arms, with the earl of Lancaster 
at their head. Edward left his favourite in the castle of 
Scarborough, which was obliged to surrender to the earl 
of Pembroke. From thence Gaveston was conducted t« 
the castle of Dedington, near Banbury, where, being left 
with a small guard, he was surprised by the earl of War- 
wick ; and, without any regard to the laws, the head of 
the unhappy favourite was struck off by the hands of the 
^ executioner. When the king was informed of Ga- 
j*^|o* veston's murder, he threatened vengeance on all 
* those who had been active in that bloody scene ; 



EDWARB II. 89 

but being less constant in his enmities than in his friend- 
ships, he hstened to terms of accommodation, and granted 
the barons a pardon of all offences. 

Immediately after Edward's retreat from Scotland, Ro- 
bert Bruce left his fastnesses ; and, in a short time, nearly 
the whole kingdom acknowledged his authority. The 
castle of Stirling, the only fortress in Scotland which re- 
mained m the hands of the English, was closely pressed ; 
and to relieve this place, Edward summoned his forces 
from all quarters, and marched with an army of an hun- 
dred thousand men. At Bannockburn, about two miles 
from Stirhng, Bruce, with thirty thousand hardy warriors, 
inured to all the varieties of fortune, and inflamed with the 
love of independence, awaited the charge of the enemy. 
A hill covered his ri^ht flank, and a morass his left ; and 
along the banks of a rivulet in his front he dug deep pits ; 
planted them with stakes, and covered the whole with 
turf. The EngUsh, confident in their superior numbers, 
rushed to the attack without precaution. Their cavalry, 
entangled in the pits, were thrown into disorder ; and the 
Scottish horse, allowing them no time to rally, attacked 
them, and drove them off the field with considerable loss. 
While the English forces were alarmed at this unfortunate 
event, an army appeared on the heights towards the left, 
marching to surround them. This was composed of 
wagoners and sumpter-boys, whom Robert had supplied 
with military standards. The stratagem took effect; a 
panic seized the English, who threw down their arms, 
and fled, and were pursued to the gates of Berwick. Be- 
sides an inestimable booty, the Scots took many persons 
of quality prisoners, and above four hundred gentlemen, 
whose ransom was a new accession of "strength to the 
victors. 

This great and decisive battle secured the independence 
of Scotland, and fixed the throne of Bruce : whilst 

AT) 

it shook that of Edward, whose defeat encouraged ^^^ / 
the nobility to insist on the renewal of their ordi- 
nances. After the death of Gaveston, the king's chief fa- 
vourite was Hugh le Despenser, or Spenser, a young man 
©f high rank, and noble family. He possessed all the ex- 
terior accomplishments of person and address, but was 
not endowed either with moderation or prudence. His fa- 
ther, who was of the same name, was a nobleman vcncra- 



90 HlSTOav OF ENGLAND. 

ble from his years, and qualified, by his talents and ex- 
perience, to have supplied the defects both of the king 
and his minion ; but Edward's attachment rendered the 
name of Spenser odious ; and the turbulent Lancaster, 
and most of the great barons, formed plans for his de- 
struction. 

The claim of Spenser to an estate, which had been set- 
tled on the illustrious family of Mowbray, was the signal 
for civil war. The earls of Lancaster and Hereford flew 
to arms ; and by menaces and violence they extorted from 
the king an act of attainder against the Spensers, and of 
indemnity for themselves. This being effected, they dis- 
banded their army, and separated, in security, as they ima- 
gined to their respective castles. Edward, however, 
having assembled an army, dropped the mask, and recall- 
ed the Spensers, whose sentence he declared to be illegal 
and unjust. Lancaster, vrho had hastily collected thirty 
thousand men, fled with his forces towards the north ; but 
being intercepted at Borou^CThbrioge, after a slight action, 
he was taken prisoner, and brought to the king. Edward, 
though gentle by nature, remembered on this occasion the 
fate of Gaveston ; and Lancaster, mounted upon a lean 
horse, and exposed to the derision of the people, was con- 
ducted to an eminence near Pomfret, one of his own cas- 
tles, where he suffered decapitation. . 

Edward, after another fruitless attempt on Scotland, 
concluded a truce for thirteen years with Bruce, whose ti- 
tle to the crown was thus virtually, though not tacitly, ac- 
knowledged. He was, however, still embarrassed by the 
demands of his brother-in-law, Charles the Fair, who re» 
quired him to appear and do homage tor the fees which he 
held in France. The queen had been permitted to go to 
Paris, and endeavour to adjust in an amicaole manner the 
differences with her brother. On her arrival in France, 
Isabella was surrounded by a number of English fugitives, 
the remains of the Lancastrian faction. Among these was 
young Roger Mortimer, a potent baron in the Welsh 
marches, who, by the graces of his person and address, 
quickly advanced in the affections of the queen, and at 
last triumphed over her honour. The king, informed ©f 
these circumstances, required her speedily to return with 
the youg prince Edward, who was then with his mother 
in Paris ; but instead of obeying his orders, she publicly 



EDWARD II. 91 

declared that she would never set foot in England till 
Spenser was removed from his presence and councils. 

This declaration procured Isabella great popularity in 
England, and threw a veil over her treasonable en- 
terprises ; and having affianced young Edward fo^' 
with Phillippa, daughter of the count of Holland 
and Hainault, she enlisted three thousand men, sailed from 
the harbour of Dort, and landed, without opposition, on the 
coast of Norfolk. She was immediately joined by several 
of the most powerful barons ; and to render her cause 
popular, she renewed her declaration, that her sole pur- 
pose was to free the king and kingdom from the tyranny 
of the Spensers. 

The king, after trying in vain to rouse the citizens of 
London to a sense of duty, departed for the west, and was 
hotly pursued to Bristol by his own brother, the earl of 
Kent, and the foreign forces under John de Hainault. 
Disappointed in the loyalty of those parts, he passed over 
into Wales, leaving the elder Spenser governor of the cas- 
tle of Bristol ; but the garrison mutined against him, and 
he was delivered into the hands of his enemies. This vene- 
rable noble, who had nearly reached his ninetieth year, 
was without trial condemned to death by the rebellious 
barons. He was hanged on a gibbet ; his body was cut 
in pieces and thrown to the dogs ; and his head was sent 
to Winchester, where it was set upon a pole, and exposed 
to the insults of the populace. Edward himself attempted 
to escape to Ireland ; but being driven back by contrary 
winds, he was discovered, and committed to the custody 
of the earl of Leicester, in the castle of Kenilworth. The 
younger Spenser, his favourite, who also fell into the hands 
of his enemies, was executed like his father, without any 
appearance of a legal trial. 

The diabolical Isabella, in order to avail herself of the 
prevailing delusion, summoned in the king's name 
a parliament at Westminster. A charge was drawn joo^ 
up against Edward, in which, though framed by 
his inveterate enemies, nothing but his want of capacity, 
or his misfortunes, could be objected against him. The 
deposition of the king, however, was voted by parliament ; 
and the prince his son was placed on the throne. 

But it was impossible that the character and conduct tf 
Isabella could long be mistaken. The gross violation of 

9 



93^ HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

every duty and every tie soon estranged from her the minds 
of men; the proofs which daily broke out of her criminal 
commerce with Mortimer, increased the general abhor- 
rence against her ; and her hypocrisy in publicly bewailing 
the king's unhappy fate, was not able to deceive even the 
most stupid and most prejudiced of her adherents. In pro- 
portion as the queen became the object of public hatred, 
the dethroned monarch, who had been the victim of her 
crimes and her ambition, was regarded with pity and vene- 
ration ; and men became sensible, that ail bis misconduct, 
which faction had so much exaggerated, had been owing to 
the natural imbecility, not to any voluntary depravity, of 
his character. The earl of Leicester, now earl of Lancas- 
ter, to whose custody he had been committed, was soon 
touched with those generous sentiments ; and besides 
treating his prisoner with gentleness and humanity, he was 
suspected to have entertained still more honourable inten- 
tions in his favour. The king, therefore, was taken from 
his hands, and delivered over to lord Berkeley, and Mau- 
travers and Gournay, who were entrusted alternately, each 
for a month, with the charge of guarding him. While he 
was in the custody of Berkeley, he was still treated with 
the gentleness due to his rank and his misfortunes ; but 
when tJie turn of Mautravers and Gournay came, every 
species of indignity was practised against hira, as if their 
intention had been to break entirely the prince's spirit, and 
to employ his sorrows and afflictions, instead of more vio- 
lent and more dangerous expedients, for the instruments of 
his murder. But as this method of destruction appeared 
too slow to the impatient Mortimer, he secretly sent orders 
to the two keepers, who were at his devotion, instantly 
to despatch him. Taking advantage of Berkeley's, sick- 
ness, in whose custody he then was, and who was 
, '^ * thereby incapacitated from attending his charge, 
' they came to Berkeley castle, and putting them- 
selves in possession of the king's person, they threw him 
on a bed, and holding him down with a table, thrust into 
his fundament a red hot iron, which they inserted through 
SL horn, that no external marks of violence might be seen 
on his person. The dreadful deed, however, was disco- 
vered to all the guards and attendants by the screams with 
which the agonizing king filled the castle, while his bowels 
were consuming. 




Edward the Second surrendering his Crown. 




Murder of Ed'a>ard the Second. 



EDWARD III. 93 

Thus died Edward II., than whom it is not easy to 
imagine a more innocent and inoffensive man, nor a prince 
less capable of governing a fierce and turbulent people. 
Obliged to devolve on others the weight of which he had 
neither ability nor inclination to bear, he wanted penetra- 
tion to choose ministers and favourites qualified for the 
trust. 



CHAP. VI. 

The Reign of Edward III. 

The party which had deposed the unfortunate monarch, 
deemed it requisite for their security, to obtain an indem- 
nity from parliament for all their proceedings. All the 
attainders, also, which had passed against the earl of Lan- 
caster and his adherents, were easily reversed during the 
triumph of their party. A council of regency was like- 
wise appointed by parliament, consisting of five prelates 
and seven lay lords ; and the earl of Lancaster was nomi- 
nated guardian of the young king, Edward III. 

Mortimer, though not included in the regency, rendered 
that council entirely useless, by usurping to himself the 
whole sovereign authority. He never consulted either 
the princes of the blood or the nobility on any pubhc 
measure ; and he affected a state and dignity equal or su- 
perior to those of royalty. Edward, who had attained 
his eighteenth year, repined at the fetters in which he was 
held by this insolent minister ; but so much was he sur- 
rounded by the emissaries of Mortimer, that he was obliged 
to conduct the project for subverting him with the greatest 
secrecy and precaution. The queen-dowager and Mor- 
timer lodged in the castle of Nottingham ; the king also 
was admitted, though with a few only of his attendants ; 
and as the castle was strictly guarded, it became necessary 
to communicate the design to Sir William Eland, the 
governor, who zealously took part in it. By his direction, 
the king's associates were admitted through a subterra- 
neous passage ; and Mortimer, without having it in his 
power to make resistance, was suddenly seized in an 
apartment adjoining to the queen's. A parliament was 
immediately summoned for his condemnation ; and such 
ivas the notoriety of his infamous conduct, that without 



94 HISTORY OF ENGLAN1>, 

trial, or examining a witness, he was sentenced to be 
hung on a jibbet at the Elms, in the neighbourhood of 
London. The queen was confined to her own house at 
Risings ; and though the king, during the remainder of 
her life, paid her a visit once or twice a year, she never 
regained any credit or influence. 

Edward, having now assumed the reins of government, 
applied himself to redress all those grievances 

1 ^"^9. ^^i^^ ^^^ proceeded from the late abuse of autho- 

' rity. The severity with which he caused justice 

to be administered, soon restored the kingdom to internal 

tranquillity ; and in proportion as the government acquired 

stability at home, it became formidable to its neighbours. 

Edward made a successful irruption into Scotland, for the 

purpose of reinstating Edward Baliol in possession of 

the crown of that kingdom ; and in an engagement at 

Halidown-hill, a little north of Berwick, the Scots were 

defeated, with the loss of nearly thirty thousand men. 

It had long been a prevailing opinion, that the crown 

of France could never descend to a female, and 

:. * * this maxim was supposed to be confirmed by a 
* clause in the Salic code ; but the king of England, 
at an early age, embraced a notion that he was entitled, 
in right of his mother, to the succession of the kingdom, 
and that the claim of the nephew was preferable to that 
of Philip de Valois, the cousin german, who had been 
unanimously placed on the throne of France. His own 
claim, however, was so unreasonable, and so thoroughly 
disavowed by the whole French nation, that it is probable 
Edward would never have prosecuted it, had not some 
jealousies and misunderstanding arisen between the two 
monarchs. 

Determined to engage in this chimerical attempt, the 
king began with opening his intentions to the count of 
Hainault, his father-in-law ; and having engaged him in 
his interests, he employed the good offices and counsels 
of that prince in drawing into his alliance the other sove- 
reigns of that neighbourhood. The duke of Brabant was 
induced, by his mediation, and by large remittances of 
money from England, to promise his concurrence ; the 
archbishop of Cologne, the duke of Gueldres, the mar- 
quis of Juliers, the count of Namur, the lords of Fauque* 



EDWARD in. J3 

mont and Baquen, were engaged by like motives to enr- 
brace the English alliance. These sovereign princes could 
supply, either from their own states, or from the bordering 
countries, great numbers of warlike troops ; and nothing 
was wanting to make the force on that quarter very formi- 
dable, but the accession of Flanders ; which Edward pra- 
cured by means rather extraordinary and unusual. 

After consulting his parliament and obtaining its con- 
sent, Edward, accompanied by a body of English forces, 
and by several of his nobility, passed over to Flanders. 
The Flemings, as vassals of France, pretending some scru- 
ples with regard to the invasion of their liege lord, Edward 
assumed the title of king of France ; but he did not ven- 
ture on this step without hesitation and reluctance, and a 
presage of the calamities which he was about to inflict and 
entail on both countries. 

The first attempts of the king were unsuccessful ; but he 
was a prince of too much spirit to be discouraged by the 
difficulties of an undertaking. By confirming the ancienj 
charters and the privileges of boroughs, he obtained from 
the parliament a considerable supply ; and with a fleet of 
two hundred and forty sail, he again embarked for the 
continent. Off Sluise he was encountered by a French 
fleet, consisting of four hundred vessels. The inferiority 
of the English in number, was compensated by their nau- 
tical skill, and the presence of their monarch. The en- 
gagement was fierce and bloody ; and the Flemings, near 
whose coast the action took place, issued from their har- 
bours, and re-enforced the Enghsh. Two hundred and 
thirty French ships were taken ; and thirty thousand of 
their men perished. Numbers now flocked to the standard 
of Edward ; and with an army of above an hundred thou- 
sand men, he invested Tournay. That place had been 
provided with a garrison of fourteen thousand men ; but 
after the siege had continued ten weeks, the city was re- 
duced to distress ; and Philip advanced towards the Enghsh 
camp, at the head of a mighty host, with the intention of 
avoiding a decisive action, but of throwing succors into 
the place. Both armies continued in sight of each other 
without engaging ; and, whilst in this situation, Jane, 
countess dowager of Hainault, interposed her good office^ 

in order to prevent the effusion of blood. This princ^jlK 

3* 



96 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

was mother-in-law to Edward, and sister to Philip ; an«l 
her pious efforts prevailed on them both, though they could 
not lay aside, at least to suspend their animosities, by sub- 
scribing a truce for twelve months. 

Edward returned to England, deeply chagrined at the 
unfortunate issue of his military operations ; and he vent- 
ed his ill humour on the officers of the revenue and col- 
lectors of taxes. In order to obtain a new supply from the 
parliament, the king had been obliged to subscribe to nearly 
the same restrictions as had been imposed on Henry III. 
and Edward 11. No sooner, however, was he possessed 
of the necessary supply, than he revoked and annulled his 
concessions ; and he afterwards obtained from his parlia- 
ment a legal repeal of the obnoxious statute, which im- 
posed those restrictions. Edward had experienced so 
many mortifications in his war with France, that he would 
probably have dropped his claim, had not a revolution in 
Brittany opened to him more promising views. 

John 111., duke of Brittany, having no issue, was solici- 
tous to prevent those disorders to which, on the event of 
his demise, a disputed succession might expose his subjects. 
For that purpose, he bestowed his niece, whom he deemed 
his heir, in marriage on Charles of Blois, nephew of the 
king of France ; and all his vassals, and among the rest 
the count of Montfort, his brother by a second marriage, 
swore fealty to Charles and to his consort as to their fu- 
ture sovereigns. But on the death of the aged duke, the 
count of Montfort made a voyage to England ; and offer- 
ing to do homage to Edward as king of France, for the 
duchy of Brittany, he proposed a strict alhance for the 
support of their mutual pretensions. Edward immediate- 
ly saw the advantages attending this treaty ; and it re- 
quired a very short negotiation to conclude an alliance 
between two men, who, though their pleas with regard to 
tHe preference of male or female succession were directly 
opposite, were intimately connected by their immediate 
interests. 

Soon after, however, Montfort fell into the hands of his 

^ enemies, was conducted as a prisoner to Paris, and 

lg^2 shut up in the Louvre. This event seemed to 

* put an end to his pretensions ; but his consort 

assembled tho iahabitants of Rennes, deplored to them 



" EDWARD lil, ^7 

the calamity of their sovereign, and entreated them to 
resist an usurper, who had been imposed on them by the 
arms of France. Inspired by the noble conduct of the 
princess, the states of Brittany vowed to live and die 
with her in defending the rights of her family. The coun- 
tess shut herself up in Hennebonne, which was invested 
by Charles of Blois, who, after several reiterated attacks, 
was compelled to abandon the siege on the arrival of suc- 
cours from England. 

After the death of Robert of Artois, whom the king of 
England had despatched to Brittany with a considerable 
reinforcement, Edward undertook in person the defence 
of the countess of Montfort. The king landed at Mor- 
bian, near Vannes, with an army of twelve thousand men, 
and commenced the three important sieges of Vannes, of 
Rennes, and of Nantz ; but by undertaking too much, he 
failed of success in all his enterprises. The duke of Nor- 
mandy, eldest son of Philip king of France, appeared in 
Brittany at the head of an army of thirty thousand in- 
fantry and four thousand cavalry. Edward was obliged 
to concentrate his forces, and to entrench himself before 
Vannes, where the duke of Normandy soon after arrivedj 
and in a manner invested the besiegers. The English 
drew all their subsistence from England, exposed to the 
hazards of the sea, and sometimes lo those which arose 
from the fleet of the enemy ; and, in this dangerous situ- 
ation, Edward willingly accepted the mediation of the 
pope's legates, and concluded a truce for three years. By 
this truce all prisoners were to be released, the places in 
Brittany to remain with their present possessors, and Van- 
nes to be sequestered into the hands of the legates, 
to be afterwards disposed of according to their pleasure. 
The truce, however, was of a very short duration ; 
and each monarch endeavoured to inculpate the ^ « . / 
other for its infraction. The parliament, whom 
Edward affected to consult on all occasions, advised the 
king not to be amused by a fraudulent truce, and granted 
fcuppUes for the renewal of the war. The earl of Derby, 
with an Enghsh army, was sent into Guienne ; but 
Edward, informed of the great danger to which that - 1 .«' 
province was exposed from the duke of Normandy, 



S8 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

prepared a force for its relief. He embarked at South- 
ampton, with his son the prince of Wales, and the flower 
of his nobility ; but the winds proving contrary, he was 
prevailed on to change the destination of his enterprise ; 
and ordering his fleet to sail to Normandy, he safely dis- 
embarked his forces at La Houge. Edward spread his 
army over the whole country, defeated a body of troops 
that had been collected for the defence of Caen, and took 
and plundered that rich city. He moved next towards 
Rouen ; but he found the bridge over the Seine broken 
down, and the king of France encamped on the opposite 
bank with an army of one hundred thousand men. 

Edward perceived that the French intended to inclose 
him in their country ; and therefore, by a secret and rapid 
movement, he gained Poissy, passed the Seine, and ad- 
vanced by quick marches towards Flanders, But as he 
approached the Somme, he found himself in the same dif- 
ficulty as before ; all the bridges on that river were either 
broken down or strongly guarded ; and an army was 
stationed on the opposite banks. The promise of a re- 
ward induced a peasant to betray the interests of his 
country, and to inform Edward of a ford below Abbeville. 
The king threw himself into the river at the head of his 
troops, drove the enemy from their station, and pursued 
them to a distance on the plain. As the rear-guard of the 
English passed, the French army under Phihp arrived at 
the ford ; and Edward, sensible that an engagement was 
unavoidable, adopted a prudent resolution. He chose his 
ground with advantage, near the village of Crecy,* drew 
up his army on a gentle ascent, and divided them into 
three lines : the first was commanded by the prince of 
Wales, and under him, by the earls of Warwick and Ox- 
ford, and other noblemen ; the second, by the earls of 
Arundel and Northampton ; and the third, by the king 
himself. His flanks were secured by trenches ; and ac- 
cording to some historians, several pieces of artillery were 
placed in his front. 

The French army, imperfectly formed, and already 
fatigued and disordered, arrived in presence of the enemy. 



'■" The battle of Crecy, which was fought Aug. 26, began .at 
three o'clock in the afternoon, and lasted till dark. 



EDWARD III. 99^ 

The first line, consisting of fifteen thousand Genoese cross- 
bow men, was commanded by Anthony Doria and Charles 
Crimaldi ; the second was led by the count of Alencon, 
brother to the king ; and at the head of the third was 
PhiHp himself, accompanied by the kings of Bohemia, of 
the Romans, and of Majorca, with all the nobility and 
great vassals of the crown of France. The battle became, 
for some time, hot and dangerous ; and the earl of War- 
wick, apprehensive of the event from the superior num- 
bers of the French, despatched a messenger to the king, 
and entreated him to send succours to the relief of the 
prince of Wales. Edward had chosen his station on the 
top of the hill ; and he surveyed in tranquiUity the scene 
of action. When the messenger accosted him, his first 
question was, whether the prince was slain or wounded ? 
On receiving an answer in the negative, " Return," said 
he, " to my son, and lell him that I reserve the honour of 
the day to him : I am confident that he will show himself 
worthy of the honour of knighthood which I so lately con- 
ferred upon him :, he will be able without my assistance, 
to repel the enemy." This speech being reported to the 
prince and his attendants, inspired them with fresh cour- 
age : they made an attack with redoubled vigour on the 
French, in which the count of Alencon was slain. In vain 
the king of France advanced with the rear to sustain the 
line commanded by his brother. The whole French army 
took to flight, and was followed and put to the sword, with- 
out mercy, by the enemy, till the darkness of the night 
put an end to the pursuit. The king, on his return to the 
camp, flew into the arras of the prince of Wales, and 
exclaimed, " My brave son ! persevere in your honourable 
cause : you are my son ; for vaHantly have you acquitted 
yourself to-day : you have shown yourself worthy of em- 
pire." 

In this battle there fell, by a moderate computation, 
twelve hundred French knights, fourteen hundred gentle- 
men, four thousand men at arms, besides about thirty thou- 
sand of inferior rank : many of the principal nobility of 
France, the dukes of Lorraine and Bourbon, the earls of 
Flanders, Blois, Vaudemont, Aumale, were left on the 
field of Battle. The kings also of Bohemia and Majorca 
wer^ slain. The former was blind from age j but being 



iOO HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

resolved to hazard his person, and set an example to others, 
he ordered the reins of his bridle to be tied on each side 
to the horses of two gentlemen of his train ; and his dead 
body and those of his attendants, were afterwards found 
among the slain, with their horses standing by them in that 
situation. His crest was three ostrich feathers ; and his 
motto these German words, Ich dien, I serve : which the 
prince of Wales and his successors adopted in memorial 
of this great victory. 

The great prudence of Edward appeared not only in ob- 
taining this memorable victory, but in the measures which 
he pursued after it. Not elated by his present prosperity, 
so far as to expect the total conquest of France, or even 
that of any considerable provinces, he limited his ambition 
to the conquest of Calais ; and after the interval of a few 
days, which he employed in interring the slain, he march- 
ed with his victorious army, and presented himself before 
that place. 

John Vienne, a valliant knight of Burgundy, was go- 
vernor of Calais, and being supplied with every thing ne- 
cessary for defence, he encouraged the townsmen to per- 
form to the utmost their duty to their king and country. 
Edward, therefore sensible from the beginning that it was 
in vain to attempt the place by force, purposed only to re- 
duce it by famine. This siege employed him nearly 
twelve months ; and during this interval, there passed in 
different places many other events, all of which redounded 
to the honour of the English arms. In vain Philip at- 
tempted to relieve Calais at the head of two hundred thou- 
sand men. That fortress was now reduced to the last ex- 
tremity by famine and the fatigue of the inhabitants ; but 
Edward insisted that six of the most considerable 
-o .J citizens should atone for the obstinacy of the rest, 
by submitting their lives to his disposal, and by 
presenting, with ropes about their necks, the keys of the 
city. This intelligence struck the inhabitants with new 
consternation. At length, Eustace de St. Pierre, whose 
name deserves to be recorded, declared himself willing 
to encounter death for the safety of his friends and com- 
panions : the generous flame was communicated to oth- 
ers ; and the whole number was soon completed. They 
appeared before Edward in the guise of malefactors 5 



EDWARD III. iOl 

but at the intercession of the queen Philippa, these excel- 
lent citizens were dismissed with presents. 

To secure the possession of Calais, Edward ordered 
all the inhabitants to quit the town, and peopled it anew 
with English ; a policy which probably secured that im- 
portant fortress so long to his successors. Through the 
mediation of the pope's legates, he soon after concluded 
a truce with France ; and on his return to England, he 
instituted the Order of the Garter. The number received 
into this order consisted of twenty-five persons, besides 
the sovereign. A vulgar story prevails, but is not sup- 
ported by authority, that, at a court-ball, the king's mis- 
tress, the countess of Salisbury, dropped her garter ; and 
Edward taking it up, observed some of the courtiers to 
smile, upon which he called out, Honi soil qui mally pense, 
*' Evil to him that evil thinks ;" and in memorial of this 
event, he instituted the Order of the Garter, with these 
words for its motto. 

During the truce between France and England, Phihp 
de Valois died, and was succeeded in the throne 
by his son John, who was distinguished by many ^^^,1 
virtues, but was destitute of that masterly prudence ^ * 
which the situation of the kingdom required. The chief 
source of the intestine calamities of France was Charles 
king of Navarre, who received the epithet of " wicked," 
and whose conduct fully entitled him to that appellation, 
though he possessed talents of the very first order, if they 
had been honourably directed. This prince did not con- 
ceal his pretensions, in right of his mother, to the throne 
of France, and increased the number of his partisans 
throughout the kingdom. He even seduced, by his ad- 
dress, Charles, the eldest son of John, who was the first 
that bore the name of dauphin. But Charles was made 
sensible of the folly and danger of the connexion ; and 
in concert with his father, he invited the king of Navarre, 
and other noblemen of the party, to an entertainment at 
Rouen, where they were betrayed into the hands of John. 
Some of the latter were immediately led to execution ; and 
the king of Navarre was thrown into prison. Philip, the 
brother of the king of Navarre, flew to arms, and implored 
the protection of England ; and as the truce was expired, 
Edward was at liberty to support the French malcontents. 



i@2 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

Whilst the king himself ravaged Picardy, the Scots, taking 
advantage of his absence, collected an army for an incur- 
sion against England. Edward, therefore, returned to 
defend that kingdom against the threatened invasion ; and 
after burning and destroying the whole country from Ber- 
wick to Edinburgh, he induced Baliol to resign the crown 
of Scotland into his hands, in consideration of an annual 
pension of two thousand pounds. 

In the mean time, young Edward, accompanied by the 
earls of Warwick and Salisbury, had arrived in the 
J^* ^' Garonne, with three hundred sail. Being joined 
* by the vassals of Gascony, he reduced all the villa- 
ges and several towns of Languedoc to ashes. In a se- 
cond campaign, at the head of twelve thousand men, he 
penetrated into the heart of France ; when he was inform- 
ed that the French king was approaching with an army of 
sixty thousand men. 

Near Poictiers, prince Edward prepared for battle with 
equal courage and prudence ; but the most splendid mili- 
tary qualities could not have extricated him, if the French 
had availed themselves of their superior numbers, and con- 
tented themselves with intercepting his provisions. So 
sensible, indeed, was the prince of his desperate condition, 
that he offered to purchase his retreat by ceding all his 
conquests, and by stipulating not to serve against France 
for seven years ; but John required that he should surren- 
der himself prisoner with one hundred of his attendants. 
The prince rejected this proposal with disdain, and decla- 
red that England should never be obliged to pay the price 
of his ransom. 

All hopes of accommodation being at an end, the prince 
of Wales strengthened by new entrenchments the post 
which he had before so judiciously chosen ; and contrived 
an ambush of three hundred men at arms, and as many 
archers, whom he put under the command of the Captal 
de Buche, and ordered to make a circuit, that they might 
fall on the flank or rear of the French army during the 
engagement. The van of his army was commanded by 
the earl of Warwick, the rear by the earls of Salisbury 
and Suffolk, the main body by the prince himself. 

John also arranged his forces in three divisions ; the 
first was commanded by the duke of Orleans, the king's 



^EDWARB XII. 103 

brother ; the second by the dauphin, attended by his two 
younger brothers ; the third by the king himself, who had 
by his side PhiUp, his fourth and favourite son, then about 
fourteen years of age. There was no reaching the EngUsh 
army but through a narrow lane, covered on each side by 
hedges ; and in order to open this passage, the mareschals 
Andrehen and Clermont were ordered to advance with a 
separate detachment of men at arms. While they marched 
along the lane, a body of English archers, who lined the 
hedges, plied them on each side with their arrows ; and 
being very near them, yet placed in perfect safety, they 
coolly took their aim against the enemy, and slaughtered 
them with impunity. The French detachment, much dis- 
couraged by the unequal combat, and diminished in their 
number, arrived at the end of the lane, where they met, on 
the open ground, the prince of Wales himself, at the head 
of a chosen body, ready for their reception. They were 
discomfited and overthrown ; one of the mareschals was 
slain, the other taken prisoner, and the remainder of the 
detachment, who were still in the lane, and exposed to 
the shot of the enemy, without being able to make resist- 
ance, recoiled upon their own army, and put every thing 
into disorder. In the critical moment, the Captal de Huche 
unexpectedly appeared, and attacked in flank the dauphin's 
line, which fell into some confusion. Landas, Bodenai, 
and St. Venant, to whom the care of that young prince and 
his brothers had been committed, too anxious for their 
charge, or for their own safety, carried them off the field, 
and set the example of flight, which was followed by that 
whole division. The duke of Orleans, seized with a lik^ 
panic, and imagining all was lost, thought no longer -of 
fighting, but carried ofl" his division by a retreat, which 
soon turned into a flight. The division under king John 
was more numerous than the whole English army ; and 
the only resistance made that day was by his line of battle. 
The prince of Wales fell with impetuosity on some German 
cavalry placed in the front ; a fierce battle ensued, but at 
length that body of cavalry gave way, and left the king 
himself exposed to the whole fury of the enemy. The 
ranks were every moment thinned around him ; the nobles 
fell by his side one after another ; his son, scarcely four- 
teen years of age, received a wound whilst fighting v*« 

10 



104 HISTORY OF ELGLAND. 

liantly in defence of his father. The king himself, speni 
with fatigue, and overwhelmed by numbers, might easily 
have been slain ; but every English gentleman, ambitious 
of taking alive the royal prisoner, spared him in the ac- 
tion, exhorted him to surrender, and otfered him quarter. 
Several who attempted to seize him suffered for their teme- 
rity. He still cried out, " Where is my cousin, the prince 
of Wales ?" and seemed unwilling to become prisoner to 
any person of inferior rank ; but being told that the prince 
was at a distance, he threw down his gauntlet, and yielded 
himself, together with his son, to Dennis de Morbec, a 
knight of Arras. 

The moderation displayed by Edwaid on this occasion, 
has for ever stamped his character. At a repast prepared, 
in his tent for his prisoner, he served at the royal caolive's 
table, as if he had been one of his retinue ; he stood be- 
hind the king's chair, and refused to be seated. All 
his father's pretensions to the crown of France were 
buried in oblivion ; and John received, when a captive, 
those honours which had been denied him when on a 
throne. 

The prince of Wales concluded a truce of two years 
with France, that he might conduct the captive 
Vcyr^ king with safety into England. He landed at 
' Southwark, and was met by a great concourse of 
people of all ranks. The prisoner was clad in royal ap- 
parel, and mounted on a white steed, distinguished by its 
size and beauty, and by the richness of its furniture. 
The conqueror rode by his side in a meaner attire, on a 
black palfry. In this situdtion he passed through the 
streets of London, and presented the king of France to 
his father, who advanced to meet him, and received him 
with the same courtesy as if he had voluntarily paid him a 
visit. 

The captivity of John produced in France the most 
horrible anarchy. Every man was thrown loose and in- 
dependent of his fellows ; and licentiousness reigned 
without control. At length, in a conference between the 
English and Freyich commissioners at Bretigni, a peace 
between the two nations was concluded on the following 
conditions. It was stipulated that king John should be 
restored to his liberty, and should pay as his ransom three 



EDWARD lU. 105 

millions of crowns of gold ;* that the king of England 
should forever renounce all claim to the crown of France, 
and to the provinces of Normandy, Maine, Touraine, and 
Anjou, possessed by his ancestors, and should receive in 
exchange the provinces of Poictou, Xaintonge, 1' Agenois, 
Perigort, the Limousin, Quercy, Rovergue, I'Angoumois, 
and other districts in that quarter, together with Calais, 
Guisnes, Montreuil, and the county of Ponthieu, on the 
other side of France ; that Edward should renounce his 
confederacy with the Flemings, and John his connexions 
with the Scots ; and that forty hostages should be sent 
to England as a security for the execution of these con- 
ditions. 

John no sooner regained his liberty, than he prepared 
to execute the terms with that fidelity and honour 

T A. D. 

by which he was characterized. However, not ^^nrl 
withstanding his endeavours, many difficulties oc- 
curred in fulfilling his purposes ; and, therefore, in order 
to adjust some disputes, he formed a resolution of coming 
over to England. His council endeavoured to dissuade 
him from his design ; but he rephed, " that though good 
faith were banished from the rest of the earth, she ought 
still to retain her habitation in the breast of princes." 
John therefore came to London, and was lodged in the 
Savoy, where he fell sick and died. 

John was succeeded in the throne by Charles the Dau- 
phin, who immediately directed his attention to the 
internal disorders which afflicted his kingdom. His , A/?/ 
chief obstacle proceeded from large bands of mili- 
tary adventurers, who had followed the standard of Ed- 
ward, but who, on the conclusion of peace, refused to lay 
down their arms, persevered in a life of rapine, and asso- 
ciating themselves under the name of " companions," were 
a terror to the country. At length, they enlisted under the 
standard of Du Guesclin, who led them against Peter the 
Cruel, king of Castile. Peter fled from his dominions, 
sought refuge in Guienne, and craved the protection of 
the prince of Wales, whom his father had invested with 
the sovereignty of these conquered countries, by the title 
of the principality of Aquitaine. That prince promised 

* About a million and an half sterliug of our present money. 



106 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

his assistance to the dethroned monarch, and recalled the 
eompanions from the service of Henry of Transtamare, 
■whom they had placed on the throne of Castile. Henry 
encountered the English prince at Najara, and was defeat- 
ed with the loss of more than twenty thousand men. Pe- 
ter was restored to the throne ; but the ungrateful tyrant 
refused the stipulated pay to the English forces ; and Ed- 
ward returned to Guienne, with a diminished army, and his 
constitution fatally impaired by the climate. The barba- 
rities exercised by Peter over his subjects, revived all the 
animosity of the Castilians ; and the tyrant was again de- 
throned and put to death. 

Prince Edward, by this rash expedition, had involved 
himself in so much debt, that he found it necessary, on 
his return, to impose on Aquitaine a new tax on hearths. 
The people, disgusted by this measure, carried their com- 
plaints to Charles, their ancient sovereign, as to their lord 
paramount, against these oppressions of the English go- 
vernment. By the treaty of Bertigne, the king of France 
had renounced all claims to the homage and fealty due 
for Guienne, and the other provinces ceded to the English ; 
but, on this occasion, Charles affected to consider himself 
as superior lord of those provinces, and summoned Edward 
to appear at his court at Paris, and justify his conduct to 
his vassals. The prince briefly rephed, that he would 
come to Paris, but that it should be at the head of sixty 
thousand men. 

Charles fell upon Ponthieu, while his brothers, the 

dukes of Berri and Anjou, invaded the southern provinces. 

In one action, Chandos, the constable of Guienne, was 

slain ; and in another, the Captal de Buche was taken 

prisoner. The state of the prince of Wales's health 

rendered him unable to mount on horseback, or exert his 

usual activity ; and his increasing infirmities compelled 

him to resign the command of the army, and return to his 

native country. Edward, from the necessity of his affairs, 

was obliged to conclude a truce, after seeing almost 

^ o„ * all his ancient possessions in France ravished from 

him, except Bordeaux and Bayonne, and all his 

conquests, except Calais. • 

The decline of the king's power corresponded not 
with the preceding parts of it. Besides the loss of his 



EDWARD III. 107 

foreign dominions, he felt the decay of his authority at 
home. During the vigour of age, he had been chiefly 
occupied by war and ambition ; but, in his latter years, 
he began to indulge himself in pleasure. After a lingering 
illness, the prince of Wales died, in the forty-sixth year of 
his age, leaving a character illustrious for every eminent 
virtue, and unstained by any blemish. His valour and 
military talents formed the smallest part of his merit ; his 
generosity, humanity, affability, and moderation, gained 
him the aflections of ail men ; and he was qualified to 
throw a lustre not only on the rude age in which he lived, 
but on the most shining period either of ancient or modern 
history. The kingf survived about a year this melancholy 
incident : he expired in the sixty-fifth year of his age, and 
the fifty-first of his reign ; and the people v^^ere then sen- 
sible, though too late, of the irreparable loss which they 
had sustained. 

The English are apt to consider with peculiar fondness 
the history of Edward the Third, and to esteem his reign, 
as it was one of the longest,'^ the most glorious also in the 
annals of their nation. The ascendancy wliich they then 
began to acquire over France, their rival and natural ene- 
my, makes them cast their eyes on this period with great 
complacency, and sanctifies every measure which Edward 
embraced for that end. But the domestic government of 
this prince is really more admirable than his foreign 
victories ; and England enjoyed, by the prudence and 
vigour of his government, a longer interval of domestic 
peace and tranquillity than she had been blest with in any 
former period, or than she experienced for many a^es 
after. He gained the aflfections of the great, yet curbed 
their licentiousness : his aflfable and obhging behaviour, 
his munificence and generosity, induced them to submit 
with pleasure to his dominion ; and his valour and con« 
duct rendered them successful in most of their enterprises. 
His foreign wars were neither founded in justice, nor 
directed to any silutary purpose; but the glory of a 
c mqueror is so dazzling to the vulgar, the animosity of 
nations is so violent, that the fruitless desolation of so 
fine a part of Europe as France, is totally disregarded by 

* It is the longest reign in English history, excepting that of 
George the Third. 

10* 



108 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

US, and is never considered as a blemish in the character 
or conduct of this prince. 

Edward had a numerous posterity by his queen, Philip- 
pa of Hainault. His eldest son was the heroic Edward, 
usually deuominated the Black Prince, from the colour of 
his armour. This prince espoused his cousin Joan, com- 
monly called the " Fair Maid of Kent, daughter and heir 
of his uncle, the earl of Kent," who was beheaded in the 
beginning of this reign. By her, the prince of Wales had 
a son, Richard, who succeeded his grand father. 

The second son of king Edward was Lionel, duke of 
Clarence, who, dying while still young, left only one 
daughter, married to Edward Mortimer, earl of Marche. 
Of all the family, he resembled most his father and elder 
brother in his noble qualities. 

Edward's third son was John of Gaunt, so called from 
the place of his birth : he was created duke of Lancaster ; 
and from him sprang that branch which afterwards pos- 
sessed the crown. The fourth son of this royal family 
was Edmund, created duke of York ; and the fifth was 
Thomas, who received the title of duke of Gloucester. By 
his queen, Edward had aisofour daughters, Isabella, Joan, 
Mary, and Margaret, all of whom arrived at years of ma- 
turity, and married. 

During the reign of Edward, the parliament rose to 
greater consideration than it had experienced in any for- 
mer time ; and even the house of commons, which, during 
turbulent and factious periods, was naturally depressed by 
the greater power of the crown and barons, began to as- 
sume its rank in the constitution. 

One of the most popular laws enacted by any prince, 
was the statute which passed in the twenty-fifth year of 
kmg Edward's reign, and which limited the cases of high 
treason to three principal heads : conspiring the death of the 
king, levying war against him, and adhering to his enemies. 

CHAP. VH. 

The reigns of Richard 11. , Henry IV., and Henry V. 

RicH4RD If., the son of Edward the Black Prince, was 

^ only eleven years of age when his grandfather 

j^i^^* died; and as the late king had taken no care to 

* establish a plan of government during the mino- 



RICHARD 11. lOS 

rity of his grandson, it behooved the parliament to supply 
the defect. On this occasion, the commons took the lead ; 
and at their requisition the house of lords appointed a coun- 
cil of nine, to whom they gave authority for a year to di- 
rect the pubhc business, and to inspect the education of 
the young prince. Ihe government was conducted en- 
tirely in the king's name ; no regency was expressly ap- 
pointed ; and the whole system was for some years kept 
together by the secret authority of the king's uncles, espe- 
cially of the duke of Lancaster. 

Edward had left his grandson involved in many danger- 
ous wars, 'i he pretensions of the duke of Lancaster to 
the crown of Castile made that kingdom persevere in hos- 
tilities against England. Scotland maintained such close 
connexions with France, that war with one crown almost 
inevitably produced hostilities with the other. Charles the 
Fifth, indeed, was dead, and his son Charles the Sixth was 
a minor. The duke of Lancaster conducted an army into 
Britanny ; and the duke of Gloucester, with only two thou- 
sand cavalry, and eight thousand infantry, penetrated into 
the heart of France ; but, though the French were over- 
awed by the former successes of the English, these enter- 
prises proved in the issue unsuccessful. 

The expenses of these armaments greatly exhausted the 
English treasury ; and the parliament imposed a tax of 
three groats on every person above fifteen years of age. 
This impost produced a most serious revolt. A spirit of 
independence had been excited among the people, who 
had this distich frequently in their mouths : 
" VVLen Adam delv'd and Lve span, 
" VVlierewas then the g-enllernau .'*'' 
At this time the tax-gatherers demanded of a blacksmith 
of Essex, payment for his daughter, whom he asserted to 
be under the age assigned by the statute. One of the col- 
lectors offered to produce a very indecent proof to the con- 
trary, and laid hold of the maid ; which the father resent- 
ing, immediately knocked out the rufnan's brains with his 
hammer. The spectators applauded the action, and ex- 
claimed that it was tune to take vengeance on their tyrants, 
* and to vindicate their liberty. 1 he ^.eople flew to arms ; 
and the sedition spvead from the county of Essex into that 
of Kent, of Hertford, Surry, feussex, Suffolk, Norfolk, 



no HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

Cambridge, and Lincoln. The leaders, assuming the feign^ 
cd names of Wat Tyler, Jack Straw, Hob Carter, and i om 
Miller, committed the most outrageous violence on the 
gentry and nobility that had the misfortune to fall into 
their hands. The mutinous populace, amountmg to one 
hundred thousand men, assembled on Blackheath, under 
their leaders, Tyler and Straw, broke into the city, and re- 
quired of the king the abolition of slavery, freedom of 
commerce in market-towns without toll or impost, and a 
fixed rent of lands, instead of the services of villanage. 

These requisitions were complied with ; and charters to 
that purpose were granted to them. A party of the insur- 
gents, however, broke into the tower, murdered several 
persons of distinction, and continued their ravages in the 
city. The king, passing along Smithfield, very slenderly 
guarded, met with Wat Tyler, at the head of the mob, and 
entered into a conference with him. Tyler having order- 
ed his companions to retire till he should give tl.em a sig- 
nal, when they were to murder all the company, except 
the king himself, whom they were to detain prisoner, fear- 
lessly came into the midst of the royal retinue. He there 
behaved himself in such a manner, that Walworth, the 
mayor of London, unable to bear his insolence, drew his 
sword, and struck him to the ground, where he was in- 
stantly despatched by others of the king's attendants. 
The mutineers, seeing their leader fall, prepared them- 
selves for revenge ; and this whole company, with the 
king himself, had undoubtedly perished on the spot, had 
it not been for an extraordinary presence of mind which 
Richard displayed on the occasion. Ordering his compa- 
ny to stop, he advanced alone against the enraged multi- 
tude ; and accosting them with an affable and intrepid 
countenance, he asked them, " What is the meaning of 
this disorder, my good people ? Are ye angry that ye 
have lost your leader ? 1 am your king : I will be your 
leader !" The populace, overawed by his presence, im- 
plicitly followed him : he led them into the fields to pre- 
vent any disorder which might have arisen by their con- 
tinuing in the city, and peaceably dismissed them with the ■ 
same charter which had been granted to their fellows. tSoon 
after, the nobility and gentry, hearing of the king's danger, 
in which they were all involved, flocked to London with their 



RICHARD ir. Ill 

adherents and retainers ; and Richard took the field at 
the head of an army forty thousand strong. The rebels 
were obliged to submit ; the charters of enfranchisement 
and pardon were revoked by parliament ; and several of 
the ringleaders were severely punished. 

The subjection in which Richard was held by his uncles, 
particularly by the Duke -of Gloucester, a prince of genius 
^nd ambition, was extremely disagreeable to his disposi- 
tion ; and he soon attempted to shake off the yoke. Glou- 
cester and his associates, however, framed a commission 
which was ratified by parliament, and by which the sove- 
reign power was transferred to a council of fourteen persons 
for a twelve month. The king, who had now reached the 
twenty-first year of his age, was in reality dethroned ; and 
though the term of the commission was limited, it was easy 
to perceive that it was the intention of the party to render 
it perpetual. However, in less than a twelve month, Ri- 
chard, who was in his twenty-third year, declared in 
council, that, as he had now attained the full age 
which entitled him to govern the kingdom by his 1309 
own authority, he was resolved to exercise his 
right of sovereignty. By what means the king regained 
his nuthoritv is" unknown ; but hs Gxerciscd it with iHode« 
ration, and appeared reconciled to his uncles. 

However, the personal conduct of Richard brought him 
into contempt, even whilst his government seemed, in a 
great measure, unexceptionable. Indolent, profuse, and 
addicted to low pleasures, he spent his time in feasting, 
and dissipated in idle show, or in bounties to worthless 
favourites, the revenue which should have been employed 
in enterprises directed to public honour and advantage. 
He forgot his rank, and admitted all men to his familiarity. 
The little regard which the people felt for his person, dis- 
posed them to murmur against his government, and to re- 
ceive withreadines every complaint suggested to them by 
the discontented or ambitious nobles. 

Gloucester soon perceived the advantages afforded him 
by the king's dissolute conduct ; and he determined to 
cultivate the favour of the nation. He inveighed with iii- 
decent boldness against every measuce pursued by ^^ 
the king, and particularly against the truce with loq^*. 
France. His imprudence revived the resentment 



112 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

which his former violence liad kindled ; the precipitate 
temper of Hichard admitted of no deliberation ; and he 
ordered Gl®uce4er to be uaexpectedly arrested, and car- 
ried over to Calais, vv^here alone, by reason of his nume- 
rous partisans, he could safely be detamed in custody, in 
a parliament which w^as immediately summoned, an ac- 
cusation was presented ai>;ainsi the duke of Gloucester, 
and the earis of Arundel and Warwick, who had appeared 
against their sovereis^n, in an hostile manner, at Haringay 
Park. The earl of Arundel was executed, and the earl of 
Warwick banished, though the crime for which they were 
eondemned had been obliterated by time, and by repeated 
pardons. A warrant was issued to the earl mar^seiiai, go- 
vernor of Calais, to bring over the duke of Gloucester, in 
order to his trial ; but the governor returned for answer, 
that the duke had died suddenly of an apoplexy ; though 
it afterwards appeared, that he had been suffocated by the 
order of Richard. 

After the destruction of the duke of Gloucester and the 
heads of that party, a misunderstanding arose among the 
noblemen who had joined in the prosecution. The duke 
©f Hereford, son of the duke of Lancaster, accused the 
duke of Norfolk of having privately epoken many slander- 
ous words of the king. Norfolk denied the charge, and 
offered to prove his own innocence by duel. The chal- 
lenge was accepted ; but when the two champions appear- 
ed in the field, the king interposed, and ordered both the 
combatants to quit the kingdom ; assigning one country 
for the place of Norfolk's exile, which he declared perpet- 
ual, and another for that of Hereford, which he limited to 
ten years. 

Hereford conducted himself with so much submission, 
that the king shortened the term of his exile four years ; 
and he also granted him letters patent, by which he was 
empowered, incase any inheritance should in the interval 
accrue to him, to enter immediately into possession, and 
to postpone the doing of homage till his return. However, 
the king's jealousy was awakened by being informed that 
Hereford had entered into a treaty of marriage with the 
daughter of the duke of Berry, uncle to the French king ; 
and on the death of the duke of Lancaster, which happened 
goon after, Richard revoked his letters patent, and seized 



RICHARD II. 113 

ih^ estate of Lancaster. Henry, the new duke of Lancas- 
ter, had acquired by his conduct and abilities, the esteem 
of the public ; and he had joined to his other praises those 
of piety and valour. His misfortunes were lamented ; the 
injustice which he had suffered was complained of; and 
all men turned their eyes towards him, as the only person 
that could retrieve the lost honour of the nation, or redress 
the supposed abuses of the government. 

While such were the dispositions of the people, Richard 
had the imprudence to embark for Ireland, in order to re- 
venge the death of his cousin, Roger, earl of Marche, the 
presumptive heir of the crown, who had lately been slain 
in a skirmish with the natives ; and he thereby left the 
kingdom of England open to the attempts of his provoked 
and ambitious enemy. Henry, embarking at Nantz witk 
a retinue of sixty persons, among whom were the arc! 
bishop of Canterbury, and the young earl of Arund* . 
nephew to that prelate, landed at Ravenspur in Yorkshire, 
and was immediately joined by the earls of Northumber- 
land and Westmoreland, two of the most potent barons in 
England. Every place was in commotion : the malcon- 
tents in all quarters flew to arms ; and Henry's army, in- 
creasing on every day's march, soon amounted to the num- 
ber of sixty thousand men. This army was farther in- 
creased by the accession of that assembled by the duke of 
York, who had been left guardian of the realm ; and the 
duke of Lancaster, thus reinforced, was now entirely mas- 
ter of the kingdom. 

The king, recei»ving information of this invasion and in- 
surrection, hastened over from Ireland, and landed in Mil- 
ford Haven with a body of twenty thousand men ; but even 
this army, so much inferior to the enemy, gradually de- 
serted him, till he found that he had not above six thousand 
men who followed his standerd. Sensible of his danger, 
he privately fled to the isle of Anglesea, where the earl of 
Northumberland, by trejichery and false oatl*s, made him- 
self master of the king's person, and carried him to his 
enemy at Flint castle. Richard was conducted to London 
by the duke of Lancaster, who was there received by the 
acclamations of the mutinous populace. The duke first 
extorted a resignation from Richard ; but as he knew the 



114 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

tesult of this deed would appear the result of force, he 
also procured him to be deposed in parliament for his pre- 
tended tyranny and misconduct. The throne being now 
declared vacant, the duke of Lancaster stepped forth, and 
having made the sign of the cross, pronounced these 
words, which we shall give in the original idiom, because 
of their singularity : *' In the name of the Fadher, Son, and 
Holy Ghost, 1 Henry of Lancaster challenge this rewme of 
Ynglande, and the croun, with ail the membres, and the 
appurtenances : als I that am descendit by right line of 
the blode coming fro the gude king Henry therde, and 
throge that right that God of his grace hath sent me, with 
helpe of kyn, and of my frendes, to recover it ; the which 
rewme was in poynt to be ondone by default of governance, 
and ondoying of the gude laws." 

The earl of Northumberland made amotion in the house, 
of peers with regard to the unhappy prince whom they had 
deposed. He asked them what advice they would give 
the king for the future treatment of him, since Henry was 
resolved to spare his life. They unanimously replied, that 
he should be imprisoned under a secure guard, in some se- 
cret place, and should be deprived of all commerce with 
his friends and partisans. It was easy to foresee, that he 
would not long remain alive in the hands of his barbarous 
and sanguinary enemies. Historians differ with regard to 
the manner in which he was murdered. It was long the 
prevailing opinion, that Sir Piers Exton, and others of his 
guards, fell upon him in the castle of Pomfret, where he 
was confined, and despatched him withiheir halberts. But 
it is more probable, that he was starved to death in prison, 
since his body was exposed in public, and no marks of vio- 
lence were observed upon it. He died in the thirty-fourth 
year of his age, and the twenty-third of his reign ; and left 
no posterity, either legitimate or illegitimate. 

Richard appears to have been incapacitated for govern- 
ment, less for want of natural parts, than of solid judg- 
ment and good education. He was violent in his temper ; 
profuse in his expense ; fond of idle show and magnifi- 
cence ; devoted to favourites ; and addicted to pleasure. If 
he had j.ossessed the talents of gaining, or of overawing 
^ great barous, he might have escaped all the misfor- 



HENRV IV. i 15 

tunes of his reign ; but when the nobles were tempted, by 
his want of prudence or of vigour, to resist his authority, 
he was naturally led to seek an opportunity of retaliation. 

Henry the Fourth, in his very first parliament, had rea- 
son to see the danger attending that station which 
he had assumed, and the obstacles which he would - * ' 
meet with in governing an unruly'aristocracy, always 
divided by faction, and at present inflamed with the resent- 
ments consequent on such recent convulsions. The peers, 
on their assembling, broke out into violent animosities 
against each other ; forty gauntlets, the pledges of furious 
battle, were thrown on the floor of the house, by noble- 
men who gave mutual challenges ; and liar and traitor re- 
sounded from all quarters. The king had so much author- 
ity with these doughty champions, as to prevent all the 
combats which they threatened ; but he was not able to 
bring them to a proper composure, or to an amicable dis 
position towards each other. 

The utmost prudence of Henry could not shield him 
from those numerous inquietudes which assailed him from 
every quarter. The connexion of Richard with the royal 
family of France, made that court exert its activity to 
recover his authority, or revenge his death ; but the con- 
fusions which the French experienced at home, obliged 
them to accommodate matters, and to conclude a truce be- 
tween the two kingdoms. 

The revolution in England proved also the occasion of 
an insurrection in Wales. Owen Glendour, descended 
from the ancient princes of that country, had become ob- 
noxious on account of his attachment to Richard, in con- 
sequence of which Reginald lord Grey of Ruthyn, who 
was connected with the new king, had seized his estate. 
Glendour recovered possession by the sword ; the Welsh 
armed on his side ; and a long and troublesome war was 
kindled. As Glendour committed devastations on the 
estate of the earl of Marche, Sir Edmund Mortimer, uncle 
to that nobleman, led out the retainers of the family, and 
gave battle to the Welsh chieftain. Mortimer's troops 
were routed ; and the earl himself, still in his minority, was 
made prisoner ; and Henry, though he owed his crown to 
the Piercies, to whom the young nobleman was nearly 

H 



H6 HISTORY OP ENGLANU. 

related, refused to the earl of Northumberland permission 
to treat for his ransom with Glendour. 

The critical situation of Henry had induced the Scots t6 
make incursions into England ; and Henry, desirous of 
taking revenge, conducted his followers to Edinburgh i 
but finding the Scots would neither submit nor give him 
battle, he returned in three weeks, and disbanded his ar- 
my. In the following year, Archibald earl of Douglas, at 
the head of twelve thousand men, and attended by many 
of the principal nobility of Scotland, made an irruption 
into England, and committed devastations on the northern 
counties. On his return home, he was overtaken by the 
Piercies at Homeldon, on the borders of England, and a 
fierce battle ensued, in which the Scots were totally rout- 
ed. Douglas himself was taken prisoner, as was Mor- 
dack earl of Fife, son of the duke of Albany, with many 
others of the gentry and nobility, v 

The obligations which Henry had owed to Northumber- 
land were of a kind the most likely to produce ingratitude 
on one side, and discontent on the other. The sovereign 
naturally became jealous of that power which had advanced 
him to the throne ; and the subject was not easily satisfied 
in the returns which he thought so great a favour had me- 
rited. Though Henry, on his accession, had bestowed the 
office of constable on Northumberland for life, and con- 
ferred other gifts on that family, yet these favours were 
considered as their due : the refusal of any other request, 
was deemed an injury. The impatient spirit of Harry 
Piercy, and the factious disposition of the earl of Worces- 
ter, younger brother of Northumberland, inflamed the dis- 
contents of that nobleman ; and the precarious title of 
Henry tempted him to seek revenge, by overturning that 
throne which he had at first established. He entered into 
a correspondence with Glendour ; he gave liberty to the 
earl of Douglas, and made an alliance with that martial 
chief ; he roused up all his partisans to arms ; and such 
unlimited authority at that time belonged to the great fami- 
lies, that the same men, whom a few years before he had 
conducted against Richard, now followed his standard in 
opposition to Henry. When hostilities were ready to com- 
mence, Northumberland was seized with a sudden illness 



HENRY IV. 1 17 

at Berwick ; and young Piercy, taking the command of 
the troops, marched towards Shrewsbury, in order to join 
his forces with those of Glendour. The king had fortu- 
nately a small army on foot. He approached Piercy near 
Shrewsbury, before that nobleman was joined by Glen- 
dour ; and the policy of one leader, and impatience of the 
other, made them hasten to a general engagement. 

We shall scarcely tind any battle in those ages 
where the shock was more terrible and more con- ^^qo 
stant. Henry exposed his person in the thickest 
of the fight ; his gallant son, whose military achievements 
were afterwards so renowned, and who here performed his 
novicate in arms, signalized himself in the highest degree ; 
and even a wound which he received in the face with an 
arrow, could not oblige him to quit the field. Piercy sup- 
ported that fame which he had acquired in many a bloody 
combat ; and Douglas, his ancient enemy, and now his 
friend, still appeared his rival, amidst the horror and con- 
fusion of the day. While the armies were contending in 
this furious manner, the death of Piercy, by an unknown 
hand, decided the victory, and the royalists prevailed. 
There are said to have fallen that day, on both sides, near 
two thousand three hundred gentlemen ; but the persons 
of greatest distinction that were killed, belonged to the 
king's party. About six thousand private men perished, 
of whom two thirds were of Piercy's army. The earls of 
Worcester and Douglas were taken prisoners : the former 
was beheaded at Shrewsbury ; the latter was treated with 
the courtesy due to his rank and valour. 

The earl of Northumberland, having recovered from his 
sickness, had levied a fresh army, and was on his march to 
join his son ; but being opposed by the earl of Westmore- 
land, and hearing of the defeat at Shrewsbury, he dismiss- 
ed his forces, and came with a small retinue to the king at 
York. He pretended that his sole object in arming was 
to mediate between the parties : Henry thought proper to 
accept of the apology, and even granted him a pardon for 
his offence. Most of the other insurgents were treated with 
equal lenity. Northumberland, however, having formed a 
new conspiracy against the king, was killed in an engage- 
ment at Bramham, in Yorkshire. This success, joined 
to the death of Glendour, which happened soon after, freed 



IIS HISTORV OP ENGLAND. 

Heniy from all his domestic enemies : and this prince, who 
had mounted the throne by such unjustifiable means, and 
held it by such an acceptable title, by his valour, pru- 
dence, and address, had obtained a great ascendancy over 
his subjects. 

Though Henry entertained a well-grounded jealousy of 
the family of Mortimer, yet he allowed not their name to 
be once mentioned in parliament ; and as none of the re- 
bels had ventured to declare the earl of Marche king, he 
never attempted to procure an express declaration against 
the claim of that nobleman. However, with a design of 
weakening the pretensions of the earl of Marche, he pro- 
cured a settlement of the crown on himself and his heirs, 
male ; but the long contests with France had displayed the 
injustice of the Salic law ; and the parliament, apprehen- 
sive that they had destroyed the foundations of the English 
government, applied with such earnestness for a new set- 
tlement of the crown, that Henry yielded to their request, 
and agreed to the succession of the princes of his fam- 
ily 

But though the commons, during this reign, showed a 
laudable zeal for liberty in their transactions with the 
crown, their efforts against the church were still more ex- 
traordinary. In the sixth of Henry, being required to 
grant supplies, they proposed in plain terms to the king, 
that he should seize all the temporalities of the church, and 
employ them as a perpetual fund to serve the exigencies 
of the state. The king, hov»^ever, discouraged the appli- 
cation of the commons ; and the lords rejected the bill 
which the lower house had framed for stripping the church 
of her revenues. The commons were not discouraged by 
this repulse : in the eleventh of the king, they returned 
to the charge with more zeal than before : they made a 
calculation of all the ecclesiastical revenues, which, by 
their account, amounted to four hundred and eighty-five 
thousand marks a year, and contained eighteen thousand 
ploughs of land. They proposed to divide this property 
among fifteen new earls, fifteen hundred knights, six thou- 
sand esquires, and one hundred hospitals ; besides twen- 
ty thousand pounds a year, which the knight might take 
for his own use ; and they insisted, that the clerical func- 
tions would be better performed than at present, by fifteen 



HENRY V. 11-9 

thousand parish priests, paid after the rate of seven marks 
a-piece of yearly stipend. This application was accompa- 
nied with an address for mitigating the statutes enacted 
against the Lollards, which shows from what source the 
address came. To this unjust and chimerical proposal, 
the king gave the commons a severe reply. 

The king was so much employed in defending his crown, 
that he had little leisure to look abroad. His health decli- 
ned some months before his death ; and though he was 
in the flower of his age, his end was visibly approaching. 
He expired at Westminster (20lh March,) in the ^ ^ 
forty-sixth year of his age, and the thirteenth 0^1413^ 
his reign. The prudence, vigilance, and foresight 
of Henry IV. in maintaining his power, were admirable ; 
his command of temper was remarkable ; his courage, 
both military and pohtical, without blemish ; and he pos- 
sessed many qualities which fitted him for his high station, 
and which rendered his usurpation, though pernicious in 
after-times, rather salutary, during his own reign, to the 
English nation. He left four sons, Henry his successor, 
Thomas duke of Clarence, John duke of Bedford, and 
Humphrey duke of Gloucester ; and two daughters, 
Blanche and Philippa, the former married to the duke of 
Bavaria, the latter to the king of Denmark. 

The jealousies to which the deceased monarch's situa- 
tion naturally exposed him, had so infected his temper, 
that he regarded with distrust even his eldest son, whom, 
during the latter years of his life, he had excluded from 
public business. The active spirit of young Henry, re- 
strained from its proper exercise, broke out into extrava- 
gancies of every kind. There remains a tradition, that, 
when heated' with liquor and jollity, he scrupled not to 
accompany his riotous associates in attacking and plun- 
dering the passengers in the streets and highways. This 
extreme dissoluteness was not more agreeable to the father, 
than would have been his application to business ; and 
Henry fancied he saw, in his son's behaviour, the same 
neglect of decency, which had degraded the character of 
Richard. But the nation regarded the young prince with 
more indulgence : they observed in him the seeds of gene- 
rosity, spirit and magnanimity ; and an accident which 
happened, afforded occasion for favourable reflections. A 



120 ttlSTORY OF ENGLAND. 

riotous companion of the prince's had been indicted before 
Oascoigne, the chief justice, for some disorders ; an^ 
Henry was not ashamed to appear at the bar with the cri- 
minal, in order to give him countenance and protection. 
Finding that his presence did not overawe the chief- 
justice, he proceeded to insult that magistrate on his tri- 
bunal ; but Gascoigne, mindful of his own character, and 
the majesty of the sovereign and of the laws, which he 
sustained, ordered the prince to be carried to prison for 
his rude behaviour ; and the spectators were agreeably 
disappointed when they saw the heir of the crown submit 
peaceably to this sentence, and make reparation, of his 
error by acknowledging it. 

The memory of this incident, and many others of a 
like nature, rendered the prospect of the future reign no- 
wise disagreeable to the nation ; and the first steps taken 
by the young prince, confirmed all those prepossessions 
entertained in his favour. He called together his former 
companions, acquainted them with his intended reforma- 
tion, exhorted them to imitate his example, but strictly 
inhibited them, till they had given proofs of their since- 
rity in this particular, from appearing any more in his pre- 
sence ; and he thus dismissed them with liberal presents. 
The wise ministers of his father, who had checked his 
riots, were received with all the marks of favour and con- 
fidence ; and the chief-justice himself, who trembled to 
approach the royal presence, met with praises instead of 
reproaches for his past conduct, and was exhorted to per- 
severe in the same rigorous and impartial execution of the 
laws. The surprise of those who expected an opposite 
behaviour, augmented their satisfaction ; and the charac- 
ter of the young king appeared brighter than if it had 
never been shaded by any errors. 

At this time, the Lollards were every day increasing in 
the kingdom. The head of this sect was sir John Old- 
castle, lord Cobham, a nobleman who had distinguished 
himself by his valour and military talents, and had acqui- 
red the esteem both of the late and of the present king. 
His high character and zeal for the new sect pointed hini 
out to Arundel, archbishop of Canterbury, as the propex 
victim of ecclesiastical severity. The archbishop applied 
to Henry for permission to indict lord Cobham ; l?ut the- 



hj:nrv v. i^i 

prince, averse to sanguinary methods of conversion, en- 
deavoured, by a conversation with Cobham, to reconcile 
him to the Catholic faith. But he found that nobleman firm 
in his opinions ; and Henry's principles of toleration could 
carry him no farther. The primate indicted Cobham, and, 
with the assistance of his suffragans, condemned him to 
the flames for his erroneous opinions. Cobham escaped 
from the Tower ; and his daring spirit, provoked by per- 
secution and stimulated by zeal, prompted him to attempt 
the most criminal enterprises. He appointed a general 
rendezvous of his party, in order to seize the person of the 
king, and put their religious enemies to the sword ; but 
Henry, apprised of their intentions, apprehended such of 
the conspirators as appeared, and rendered the design in- 
effectual. It appeared that a few only were in the secret 
of the conspiracy : of these some were executed ; and 
Cobham himself, who had fled, was not brought to justice 
till four years after, when he was hanged as a traitor, and 
his body burnt upon the gibbet. 

Charles the Sixth, king of France, after assuming the 
reins of government, had discovered symptoms of genius 
and spirit ; but the unhappy prince being seized with an 
epileptic disorder, his judgment was graduallybut sensi- 
bly impaired ; and the administration of affairs was dis- 
puted between his brother, Lewis duke of Orleans, and his 
cousin-german, John duke of Burgundy. The latter pro- 
cured his rival to be assassinated in the streets of Paris. 
The princes of the blood, combining with the young duke 
of Orleans and his brothers, with all the violence of party 
rage, made war on the duke of Burgundy ; and the un- 
happy king, seized sometimes by one party, sometimes by 
the other, transferred alternately to each of them the ap- 
pearance of legal authority. 

These circumstances concurred to favour an enterprise 
of the English against France. Henry, therefore, assem- 
bled a great fleet and army at Southampton ; and relying 
on the aid of the duke of Burgundy, he put to sea, and 
landed near Harfleur, with six thousand men at arras, and 
twenty-four thousand foot. He obliged that city to capi- 
tulate after a gallant defence. The fatigues of this siege, 
and the unusual heat of the season, had so wasted the 



l52 MISTOEY op ENGLAND. 

English army, that Henry could enter on no other enterr 
prise; and as he had dismissed his transports, he was 
under the necessity of marching by land to Calais, before 
he could reach a place of safety. By this time a numerous 
French army, of fourteen thousand men at arms, and forty 
thousand foot, was assembled in Normandy, under the 
constable d' Albert. Henry, therefore, offered to purchase 
a safe retreat at the expense of his new conquest of Har- 
fleur ; but his proposals being rejected, he marched slowly 
and deliberately to the Somme, which he purposed to pass 
at the same ford that had proved so auspicious to his pre- 
decessor Edward. The ford, however, was rendered im- 
passable, by the precaution of the French ; but he was so 
fortunate as to surprise a passage near St. Quentin, over 
which he safely carried his force. After passing the small 
river of Ternois at Blangi, he observed the whole French 
army drawn up in the plains of Agincourt, and so posted 
that an engagement was inevitable. The enemy was four 
times more numerous than the English, and was headed 
by the dauphin, and all the princes of the blood. 

Henry's situation was exactly similar to that of Edward 
at Crecy, and of the Black Prince at Poictiers. The king 
drew up his army on a narrow ground between two woods, 
which guarded his flank, and patiently awaited the attack 
of the enemy. The French archers on horseback, and their 
men at arms, crowded in their ranks, advanced against the 
English archers, who had fixed pahsadoes in their front to 
break the impression of the enemy, and who, from behind 
that defence, safely plied them with a shower of arrows 
which nothing could resist. The heavy ground hindered 
the force of the French cavalry ; the whole army was a 
scene of confusion, terror, and dismay ; and the English 
fell with their battle-axes upon the French, who, being 
unable to flee or defend themselves, were slaughtered 
without resistance. Among the slain were the constable 
himself, the count of Nevers, and the duke of Brabant, 
both brothers to the duke of Burgundy, the count of Vau- 
demont, the dukes of Alencon and Barre, and the count 
of Marie ; and among the prisoners were the dukes of Or- 
leans and Bourbon, the counts d'Eu, Vendome, and 
Richmont, and the mareschal of Bousicaut. The killed. 



HENRY V. 12^ 

on the side of the French, are computed to have amounted 
to ten thousand men ; and the prisoners to four- 
teen thousand. The person of chief note, who fell i V< f-* 
among the English, was the duke of York ; and 
their whole loss is said not to have exceeded forty men. 

During the mterruption of hostilities which followed this 
engagement, France was exposed to all the furies of civil 
war. ThecountofArmagnac, created constable of France, 
prevailed on the king to send the queen to Tours, and con- 
fine her under a guard ; and her son, the dauphin Charles, 
was entirely governed by the faction of Armagnac. In 
concert with her, the duke of Burgundy entered France 
at the head of a powerful army, and at last liberated the 
queen, who fixed her independent residence at Troyes. 
and openly declared against the ministers, who, she as- 
serted, detained her royal consort in captivity. In the 
mean time, the partisans of Burgundy raised a commotion 
in Paris. Lisle Adam, one of the duke's captains, was 
received into the city, and headed the insurrection ; the 
person of the king was seized ; the dauphin escaped with 
difficulty ; and the count of Armagnac, the chancellor^ 
and the principal adherents of the Orleans party, were 
inhumanly put to death. 

Henry the Fifth again landed in Normandy, at the head 
of twenty-five thousand men. Having subdued all the 
lower Normandy, he formed the siege of Rouen, of which, 
at length, he made himself master. The duke of Burgundy 
was assassinated by the treachery of the dauphin ; and his 
son thought himself bound to revenge the murder of his 
father. A league was concluded at Arras between Henry 
and the young duke of Burgundy, who agreed to every 
demand made by that monarch. By this treaty, which 
was concluded at Troyes, in the names of the kings of 
France and England, and the duke of Burgundy, 
it was stipulated, that Charles, during his lif^? 1420 
should enjoy the title and dignity of king of France ; 
that Henry should be declared heir of the monarchy, and 
immediately entrusted with the reins of government, and 
that kingdom should pass to his heirs general ; that France 
and England should ever be united under one king, but 
should still retain their several usages, customs, and pri- 
vileges ; and that Henry should join his arms to those of 



124 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

king Charles and the duke of Burgundy, for the purpose 
6f subduing the adherents of Charles the dauphin. 

To push his present advantages, Henry, a few days af-' 
ter, espoused the princess Catharine, carried his father-in- 
law to Paris, and put himself in possession of that capital. 
He then turned his arms with success against the dauphin, 
who, as soon as he heard of the treaty of Troyes, had 
assumed the title of regent. That prince, chased beyond 
the Loire, almost entirely deserted by the northern pro- 
vinces, and pursued into the soQth by the English and Bur- 
gundians, prepared to meet with fortitude the destruction 
which seemed inevitable. To crown the prosperity of 
Henry, his queen Catharine was delivered of a son, who 
was called by his father's name, and whose birth was cele- 
brated by equal rejoicings in Paris and in London. 

The glory of Henry, however, had now reached its sum- 
mit. He was seized with a fistula, a complaint which the 
ignorance of the age rendered mortal. Sensible of his 
approaching end, he devoted the few remaining moments 
of life to the concerns of his kingdom and family, and 
to the pious duties of religion. To the duke of Bedford, 
his elder brother, he left the regency of France ; to the 
duke of Gloucester, his younger brother, he committed 
that of England ; and to the earl of Warwick he entrust- 
ed the care of his son's person and education. He 

1422 ^^P^^^^ ^^ ^^^ thirty-fourth year of his age, and 
* the tenth of his reign. 

Henry the Fifth possessed many eminent virtues, which 
were unstained by any other blemish than ambition and 
the love of glory. His talents were equally distinguished 
in the field and the cabinet ; and whilst we admire the 
boldness of his enterprises, we cannot refuse our praise 
to the prudence and valour by which they were con- 
ducted. His affability attached his friends to his ser- 
vice ; and his address and clemency vanquished his 
enemies. His unceasing attention to the administration 
of justice, and his maintenance of discipline in the armies^ 
alleviated both to France and England the calamities in- 
separable from those wars in which his short and splendid 
reign was almost entirely occupied. The exterior figure 
^f this great prince, as well as his deportment, was enga- 
ging, His stature was someivhat above the middle size i 



ffENRV VI. 125 

liis countenance beautiful ; his limbs were genteel, and 
slender, but full of vigour ; and he excelled in all warlikd 
and manly exercises. He left by his queen, Catherine of 
France, only one son, not full nine months old ; whose 
misfortunes, in the course of his life, surpassed all the glo- 
ries and successes of his father. 

Catherine of France, Henry's widow, married, soon 
after his death, a Welsh gentleman, Sir Owen Tudor, said 
to be descended from the ancient princes of that country : 
she bore him two sons, Edmund and Jasper, of whom the 
eldest was created earl of Richmond ; the second, earl of 
Pembroke. The family of Tudor, first raised to distinc- 
tion by this alliance, mounted afterwards the throne of 
England. 



CHAP. vni. 

The Reigns of Henry VL^ Edward IV,, and Edward K. 

During the reign of the princes of the house of Lan- 
caster, the authority of parliament had been more confirm- 
ed, and the privileges of the people more regarded, than 
in any former period. Without attending to the strict let* 
ter of the deceased monarch's recommendation, the lords 
and commons appointed the duke of Bedford protector or 
guardian of the kingdom ; they invested the duke of Glou- 
cestor with the same dignity during the absence of his elder 
brother ; and, in order to limit the power of both these 
princes, they appointed a council, without whose advice 
and approbation no measure of importance could be deter- 
mined. The person and education of the infant prince 
were committed to Henry Beaufort, bishop of Winchester^ 
his great uncle, who, as his family could never have any 
pretensions to the crown, might safely, they thought, be 
intrusted with that important charge. 

The conquest of France was the first object of the new 
government ; and, on a superficial view of the state of 
affairs, every advantage seemed to be on the side of the 
English. Though Henry was an infant, the duke of Bed- 
ford was the most accomplished prince of his age ; and 
the whole power of England was at his command. He 
was at the head of armies accustomed to victory ; he was' 



X2Q HISTORY OF ENGLAND, 

^conded by the most renewed generals of the age ; and 
besides Guienne, the ancient inheritance of England, he 
was master of Paris, and of almost all the northern pro- 
vinces. 

But Charles, notwithstanding his present inferiority, 
possessed some advantages which promised him success. 
He was the true and undoubted heir of the monarchy ; and 
all Frenchmen, who knew the interest, or desired the in- 
dependence of their country, turned their eyes towards 
him as their sole resource. Though only in his twentieth 
year, he was of the most friendly and benign disposition, 
of easy and familiar manners, and of a just, though not a 
very vigorous understanding. The love of pleasure often 
seduced him into indolence ; but, amidst all his irregulari- 
ties, the goodness of his heart still shone forth ; and by 
exerting at intervals his courage and activity, he proved 
that his remissness did not proceed from the want of am- 
bition or personal valour. 

The resentment of the duke of Burgundy against Charles, 
Still continued ; and the duke of Bedford, that he might 
corroborate national connexions by private ties, concluded 
his own marriage with the princess of Burgundy, which 
had been stipulated by the treaty of Arras. 

But the duke of Bedford was not so much employed in 
negotiations as to neglect the operations of war. A con- 
siderable advantage was gained over the French, in the 
battle of Crevant, by the united forces of England and 
Burgundy. In the mean time, the duke of Bedford was 
engaged in the siege of Yvri in Normandy ; and the go- 
vernor, finding his resources exhausted, agreed to surren- 
der the town, if not relieved by a certain day. Charles, 
informed of these conditions, determined to make an at- 
tempt for saving the place ; and collecting an army of 
fourteen thousand men, of whom one half were Scots, he 
entrusted it to the earl of Buchan, constable ol France. 
When the constable arrived within a few leagues of Yvri, 
he found that the place had already surrendered ; but he 
immediately invested Verneuil, which he carried without 
difficulty. On the approach of the duke of Bedford, 
Buchan called a council of war, in order to deliberate on 
the conduct necessary to be pursued. The wiser part of 
the council declared for a retreat ; but a vain point of 



HENRY VI. 127 

honour determined the assembly to await the arrival of the 
duke of Bedford. 

In this action, the numbers of the contending armies 
were nearly equal ; and the battle was fierce and well dis- 
puted. At length, the duke of Bedford, at the head of 
the men at arms, broke the ranks of the French, chased 
the:a off the field, and rendered the victory complete and 
decisive. Verneuil was surrendered next day by capitu- 
lation. 

The fortunes of Charles now appeared almost desperate, 
when an incident happened which lost the English an 
opportunity of completing their conquests. Jaqueline, 
countess of Hainault and Holland, and heiress of these 
provinces, had espoused John, duke of Brabant, cousin- 
german to the duke of Burgundy. The marriage had been 
dictated by motives of policy ; but the duke of Brabant's 
weakness, both of body and mind, inspired the countess 
with conteuipt, which soun proceeded to antipathy. Im- 
patient of effecting her purpose, she escaped into England, 
and solicited the protection of the duke of Gloucester. 
The impetuous passions of that prince, and the prospect 
of inheriting her rich inheritance, induced him to offer 
himself to her as a husband ; and he entered into a con- 
tract of marriage with Jaqueline, and immediately at- 
tempted to render himself master of her dominions. The 
duke of Burgundy resented the injury offered to the duke 
of Brabant, his near relation, and marched troops to his 
support ; the quarrel, which was at first political, soon 
became personal ; and the protector, instead of improving 
the victory gained at Verneuil, found himself obliged to 
return to England, that he might try, by his councils and 
authority, to moderate the measures of the duke of Glou- 
cester. 

The pope annulled Jaqueline's contract with the duke 
of Gloucester ; and Humphrey, despairing of success, mar- 
ried another lady, who had lived some time with him as 
his mistress. The duke of Brabant died ; and his widow, 
before she could recover possession of her dominions, was 
obliged to declare the duke of Burgundy her heir, in case 
she should die without issue, and to promise never to mar- 
ry without his consent. This affair, however, left an un- 
favourable impression on the mind of Philip, and excited 

12 



i 2g HISTORY OF ENGLAI^D. 

an extreme jealousy of the English. About the same lim^, 
the duke of Brittany withdrew himself from the alliance 
with England ; his defection was followed by that of hid 
brother, the couj^t of Richemont ; and both these princes 
joined the standard of their legitimate sovereign, Charles 
the Seventh. 

Indignant at the conduct of the duke of Brittany, the 
duke of Bedford, on his arrival in France, secretly assem* 
bled a considerable army, and suddenly invading the pro- 
vince of Brittany, compelled his sovereign to renounce his 
alliance with France, and to yield homage to Henry for 
his duchy. Being thus freed from a dangerous enemy, 
the English prince resolved to invest the city of 
fztJft O'^l^^iis, which was so situated between the pro- 
* vinces commanded by Henry, and those possessed 
by Charles, as to afford an easy entrance into either. He 
committed the conduct of the enterprise to the earl of Sa- 
lisbury, who had greatly distinguished himself by his mili- 
tary talents during the present war. On the other hand, 
the French king re-enforced the garrison, and replenished 
the magazines, and appointed as governor the lord of 
Gaucur, a brave and experienced officer. 

The earl of Salisbury approached the place with an army 
of ten thousand men, and was killed by a cannon-shot in 
a successful attack on the fortifications. The earl of Suf- 
folk succeeded to the command ; and being re-enforced by 
large bodies of English and Burgundians, he completely 
invested Orleans. The inclemency of the season, and the 
rigour of the winter, could not overcome the perseverance 
of the besiegers, who seemed daily advancing to the com- 
pletion of their enterprise. In order to distress the enemy, 
the French had ravaged and exhaused the whole sur- 
rounding country : and the Enghsh were compelled to 
draw their subsistence from a considerable distance. A 
convoy of provisions vras escorted by Sir John Falstoffe, 
with a detachment of two thousand five hundred men. 
Falstoffe, being attacked by a body of four thousand 
French, under the command of the counts of Clermont 
and Dunois, drew up his men behind the wagons ; when 
the French were defeated by their own impetuosity, and 
five hundred of them perished on the field. 

Charles had now only one expedient left for preserving 



HENRY V. 129 

this city. The duke of Orleans, still a prisoner in Eng- 
land, had prevailed on the duke of Gloucester and his 
council to consent to a neutrality in his demesnes, which 
should be sequestered during the war into the hands of 
the duke, of Burgundy ; but this proposal was rejected by 
the duke of Bedford, who replied, that "he was not in a 
humour to beat the bushes, whilst others ran away with 
the game." This answer disgusted the duke of Burgun- 
dy, who separated his forces from those of the English ; 
but the latter pressed the siege with increased ardour ; 
and scarcity was already experienced by the garrison and 
inhabitants. 

Charles, almost reduced to despair, entertained thoughts 
of retiring with the remains of his army into Dauphine 
and Languedoc ; but he was diverted from his purpose by 
the intreaties of his queen, Mary of Anjou, a princess of 
prudence and spirit, and by the remonstrances of his beau- 
tiful mistress, the celebrated Agnes Sorele. 

In the village of Domremi, near Vaucouleurs, on the 
borders of Lorraine, lived a country girl, called Joan d' Arc, 
who was a servant in a small inn, and who, having been 
accustomed to ride the horses of her master's guests to 
water, had acquired a degree of hardihood, which enabled 
her to endure the fatigues of war. The present situation 
of France was the common topi8 of conversation. Joan, 
inflamed by the general sentiment, fancied that she was 
destined by heaven to re-establish the throne of her sove- 
reign ; and the intrepidity of her mind led her to despise 
the dangers which would naturally *attend such an attempt. 
She procured . admission to Baudricourt, the governor of 
Vaucouleurs ; and declared to him, that she had been ex- 
horted by visions and voices to achieve the deliverance 
of her country. Baudricourt, either equally credulous 
himself, or sufficiently penetrating to foresee the effect 
such an enthusiast might have on the minds of the vulgar, 
gave her an escort to the French court, which at that time 
resided at Chinon. 

On her arrival, she is said to have distinguished Charles, 
though he purposely remained in the crowd of his cour- 
tiers, and had divested himself of every ensign of royalty ; 
to have offered him to raise the siege of Orleans, and to 
conduct him to Rheims, there to be crowned and anointed ; 



130 HiSToay OF England. 

and to have demanded, as the instrument of her future 
victories, a sword which was kept in the church of St. 
Catherine, of Firebois, and which, though she had never 
seen it, she described by its particular marks. Charles 
and his ministers pretended to examine her claims with 
scrupulous exactness ; and her mission was pronounced 
authentic and supernatural by an assemblage of doctors 
and theologians and by the parliament of France, then 
residing at Poictiers. 

To essay the power of Joan, she was sent to Blois, 
where a convoy was already provided for the relief of Or- 
leans, and an army of ten thousand men were assembled 
to escort it. The holy maid marched at the head of the 
troops, and displayed in her hand a consecrated banner, 
on which was represented the Supreme Being holding the 
globe of the earth. The English affected to deride the 
maid and her heavenly commission ; but the common 
soldiers were insensibly impressed with horror, and waited 
with anxious dread the issue of these extraordinary pre- 
parations. In this state of the public mind, the earl of 
Suffolk durst not venture an attack ; and the French army 
returned to Blois without interruption. The maid entered 
the city of Orleans arrayed in her military garb, and dis- 
playing her consecrated standard, and was received by 
the inhabitants as a celestial deliverer. A second convoy 
approached the city, on the side of Bausse ; and the wa- 
gons and troops passed without interruption between the 
redoubts of the English, who, formerly elated with victory, 
and impatient for action, beheld the enterprises of their 
enemies in silent astonishment and religious awe. The 
maid seized the critical moment, and exhorting the garri- 
son to attack the enemy in their intrenchments, the Eng- 
lish were successively chased from their posts with the 
loss of above six thousand men. In vain did the English 
generals oppose the prevailing opinion of supernatural in- 
fluence ; the English had lost their wonted courage and 
confidence, and were seized with amazement and despair. 

Unable to remain longer in the presence of a victorious 
enemy, the earl of Suffolk raised the siege, and retired to 
Jergeau, which was attacked by the French, under the 
command of Joan. On this occasion, the maid displayed 
her tisual intrepidity, and led the attack. The place was 



HENRY IV. 13l 

obstinately defended ; but the English were at length 
overpowered, and SuJSblk was obliged to yield himself 
prisoner. The remainder of the English army, command- 
ed by Falstoffe, Scales, and Talbot, were pressed by the 
constable Richemont. They were overtaken at the vil- 
lage of f atay ; and oppressed by their fears, they imme- 
diately fled. Two thousand of the English were slaugh- 
tered ; and both Scales and Talbot we»e made prisoners- 

The maid had fulfilled one part of her promise ; and 
she now strongly insisted that the king should be crowned 
at Rheims. The city itself lay in a distant part of the 
kingdom, and was in the hands of the Enghsh ; and the 
whole road which led to it was occupied by their garri- 
sons. However, Charles resolved to follow the exhorta- 
tions of his warlike prophetess ; and he set out for Rheims, 
at the head of twelve thousand men. Troves and Chalons 
opened their gates to him ; and he was admitted into 
Rheims, where the ceremony of his coronation was per- 
formed. From this act, as from a heavenly commission, 
Charles seemed to derive an additional title to the crown, 
and many towns in the neighbourhood immediately sub- 
mitted to his authority. 

The abilities of the duke of Bedford were never dis- 
played to more advantage than on this occcasion. 
He put all the English garrisons in a posture of 'c.' 
defence ; he retained the Parisians in obedience by 
alternately employing caresses and menaces ; and he had 
the address to renew, in this dangerous crisis, his alliance 
with the duke of Burgundy, who had begun to waver in 
his fidelity. The French army, which consisted chiefly of 
volunteers, soon after disbanded ; and Charles, after hav- 
ing possessed himself of Laval, Lagni, and St. Denys, re- 
tired to Bourges. Bedford caused Henry the Sixth to be 
crowned and anointed at Paris, and exacted an oath of 
allegiance from all who lived in the provinces still possess- 
ed by England. 

After the coronation of Charles at Rheims, the maid of 
Orleans declared that her mission was now fulfilled ; but 
the count of Dunois exhorted her to persevere till the 
English should be finally expelled. Overcome by his im- 
portunities, she had thrown herself into the town of Com- 
piegne, which was at that time besieged by the duke ^f 

12* 



iSi HISTORY OF ENOLAND. 

Bedford, assisted by the earls of Arundel and Suffolk, lu 
a sally, she was deserted by her friends, probably out of 
envy ; and being surrounded by the enemy, she was taken 
prisoner. The duke of Bedford purchased the captive 
from John of Luxemburgh, into whose hands she had fall- 
en, and commenced a prosecution against her, which, whe- 
ther undertaken from policy or revenge, was equally bar- 
barous and dishonourable. She was tried for sorcery., 
impiety, idolatry, and magic ; and though harassed by in- 
terrogatories for the space of four hours, she betrayed no 
weakness or womanish submission, but answered with 
firmness and intrepidity. However, she was convicted of 
all the crimes of which she had been acccused, aggrava- 
ted by heresy ; her revelations were declared to be the 
inventions of the devil to delude the people ; and she was 
sentenced to be burnt in the market-place of Rouen. The 
inhuman sentence was accordingly executed ; and the un- 
happy victim expiated by her death the signal services 
which she had rendered to her prince and her country. 

The affairs of the English, instead of being advanced by 
this inhuman act, became every day more ruinous ; and 
the abilities of Bedford were unable to prevent the French 
from returning under the obedience of their legitimate 
sovereign. The duke of Burgundy determined to unite 
himself to the royal family of France, from which his own 
had descended ; and a congress was appointed at 

' J ■ Arras, in which were adjusted the mutual preten- 
sions of Charles and Philip. Soon after this trans- 
action, the duke of Bedford expired, a prince of great 
abilities and many virtues, and whose memory is chiefly 
tarnished by the execution of the maid of Orleans. After 
his death, the court of Henry was distracted by the rival 
parties of the duke of Gloucester and the cardinal of 
Winchester : and it was seven months before the duke of 
l^ork, son to the earl of Cambridge, who had been execu- 
ted in the beginning of the last reign, was appointed suc- 
cessor to the duke of Bedford. On his arrival in France, 
the new governor found the capital already lost. The Pa- 
I'isians were attached to the house of Burgundy ; and after 
the conclusion of the treaty of Arras, they returned to 
their allegiance under their native sovereign. Lord Wil- 
lougbby. with an English garrison of fifteen hundred men, 



retired into the Bastile ; but his valour and skill only 
served to procure him a capitulation, by which he was al- 
lowed with his troops a safe retreat into Normandy. 

The cardinal of Winchester had always encouraged ev- 
ery proposal of accommodation with France, and had rc-^ 
presented the utter impossibility of pushing farther the 
conquest in that kingdom ; but the duke of Gloucester, 
high-spirited and haughty, and educated in the lofty pre- 
tensions which the first success of his two brothers had 
rendered familiar to him, could not be induced to relin- 
quish all hopes of subduing France. However, the earl of 
Suffolk, who adhered to the cardinal's party, was des- 
patched to Tours to negotiate with the French mi- 
nisters. As it was found impossible to adjust the , I^o 
terms of a lasting peace, a truce for twenty-two 
months was concluded ; and Suffolk proceeded to the ex- 
ecution of another business, which seems to have been ra- 
ther implied than expressed in the powers granted to him. 

As Henry advanced in years, his character became full- 
known. He was found to be of the most harmless, simple 
manners, but of the most slender capacity ; and hence it 
was easy to foresee that his reign would prove a perpetual 
minority. As he had now, however, reached the twenty- 
third year of his age, it was natural to think of choosing 
him a queen. The duke of Gloucester proposed a daugh- 
ter of the count of Armagnac, but the cardinal and his 
friends cast their eyes on Margaret of Anjou, daughter of 
Reginer, titufkr king of Sicily, Naples, and Jerusalem ; a 
princess accomplished both in person and mind, of a mas- 
culine spirit, and an enterprizing temper, which she had 
not been able to conceal even in the privacy of her father's 
family. The earl of Suffolk, in concert with his associates 
of the English council, m.ade proposals of marriage to 
Margaret, which were accepted. Though Margaret 
brought no dowry with her, this nobleman ventured of 
himself, without any direct authority from the council, but 
probably with the approbation of the cardinal and the rul- 
ing members, to engage, by a secret article, that the prov- 
ince of Maine, which was at that time in the hands of the 
English, should be be ceded to Charles of Anjou, her 
uncle, who was prime minister and favourite of the French 
king, and who had already received from his master th«^ 
grant of that province as his appanage. 



134 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

The treaty of Marriage was ratified in England : Suffolk 
obtained first tlie title of marquis, then that of duke ; and 
even received the thanks of parhament for his services iti 
concluding it. The princess immediately fell into close 
connexions with the cardinal and his party, who, fortified 
by her powerful patronage, resolved on the final ruin of the 
duke of Gloucester. 

The generous prince, ill-suited to court intrigues, but 
possessmg in a high degree the favour of the public, had 
received from his rivals a cruel mortification, which he 
had hitherto borne without violating the public peace, but 
which it was impossible that a person of his spirit and hu- 
manity could ever forgive. His duchess, the daughter of 
Reginal lord Cobham, had been accused of the crime of 
witchcraft ; and it was pretended that there was found in 
her possession a waxen figure of the king, which she and 
her associates, sir Roger Bolingbroke, a priest, and one 
Marjory Jordan of Eye, melted in a magical manner be- 
fore a slow fire, with an intention of making Henry's force 
and vigour waste away, by like insensible degrees. The 
accusation was well calculated to affect the weak and 
credulous mind of the king, and to gain belief in an igno- 
rant age ; and the duchess was brought to trial with her 
confederates. A charge of this ridiculous nature seems 
always to exempt the accusers from observing the rules of 
common sense in their evidence : the prisoners were pro- 
nounced guilty ; the duchess was condemned to do public 
penance, and to suffer perpetual imprisonftint ; and the 
others were executed. As these violent proceedings were 
ascribed solely to the malice of the duke's enemies, the 
people contrary to their usual practice in such trials, acquit- 
ted the unhappy sufferers, and increased their esteem and 
affection towards a prince who was thus exposed to mortal 
injuries. 

The sentiments of the public made the cardinal and his 
party sensible that it was necessary to destroy a man whom 
they had so deeply injured. In order to effect their pur- 
pose, a parliament was summoned to meet, not at Lon- 
don, which was supposed to be too well affected to the 
duke» but at St. Edmonsbury. As soon as Gloucester ap- 
peared, he was accused of treason, and thrown 
"14.4.7 ^^^^ prison: he was soon after found dead in his 

^ betl? and though it was pretended that hi » death 



UBNEY VI. i35f 

was natural, and bis body bore no marks of outward vio- 
lence, no one doubted but he had fallen a victim to the 
vengeance of his enemies. 

The cardinal of Winchester died six weeks after his 
nephew, whose murder was universally ascribed to him as 
well as to the duke of Suffolk, and which, it is said, gave 
him more remorse in his last moments, than could be 
naturally expected from a man hardened, during the 
course of a long life, in falsehood and in politics. What 
share the queen had in this guilt is uncertain : her usual 
activity and spirit made the people conclude, with some 
reason, that the duke's enemies durst not have ventured 
on such a deed without her privity. But there happened, 
soon after, an event of which she and her favourite, the 
duke of Suffolk, bore incontestibly the whole odium. 

The article of the marriage treaty, by which the pro- 
vince of Maine was to be ceded to Charles of Anjou, the 
queen's uncle, had been hitherto kept secret ; but as the 
court of France strenuously insisted on its performance, 
orders were now despatched, under Henry's hand, to Sir 
Francis Surienne, governor of Mans, to surrender that 
place. Surienne, questioning the authenticity of the order, 
refused to comply ; but a French army, under the count of 
Dunois, obliged him to surrender not only Mans, but all 
the other fortresses, in that province. Surienne, at the 
head of his garrisons, retired into Normandy : but the 
duke of Somerset, who was governor of that province, 
refused to admit him ; and this adventurer marched into 
Brittany, and subsisted his troops by the ravages which 
he exercised. . The duke of Brittany complained of this 
violence to the king of France, his liege lord ; and Charles 
remonstrated with Somerset, who replied that the injury 
was done without his privity, and that he had no authority 
over Surienne. Charles refused to admit of this apology, 
and insisted that reparation should be made to the duke of 
Brittany for all the damages which he had sustained ; and, 
in order to render an accommodation absolutely impracti- 
cable, he estimated th^ loss at no less a sum than one 
million six hundred thousand crowns. 

Sensible of the superiority which the present state of 
his affairs gave him over Elgland, he was determined to 
take advantage of it; and, accordingly, Normandy wa^ 



136 HISTORY OF ENGLAND* 

at once invaded by four powerful armies : the first 
1449 ^^^"^"^^^'i^ti by the king of France himself; the 
* second, by the duke of Brittany ; the third, by the 
duke of Alencon ; and the fourth by the count of Dunois. 
The conquest of Normandy was speedily finished by 
Charles. A like rapid success attended the French arms 
in Guienne ; and the English were expelled from a pro- 
vince which they had held for three centuries. 

The palpable weakness of Henry the Sixth had encou- 
raged a pretender to the crown of England ; and the 
English were doomed to pay, though late, the penalty of 
their turbulence under Richard the Second, and of their 
levity in violating, without any necessity, the hneal succes- 
sion of their monarchs. All the males of the house of 
Mortimer were extinct ; but Anne, the sister of the last 
earl of Marche, having espoused the earl of Cambridge, 
beheaded in the reign of Henry V., had transmitted her 
latent, but not yet forgotten, claim to her son, Richard, 
duke of York. This prince, thus descended by his mother 
from Philippa, only daughter of the duke of Clarence, 
second son of Edward III., stood plainly in the order of 
succession before the king, who derived his descent from 
the duke of Lancaster, third son of that monarch ; and 
that claim could not, in many respects, have lallen into 
more dangerous hands than those of the duke of York, 
Richard was a man of valour and abilities, of a prudent 
conduct and mild disposition ; he had enjoyed an oppor- 
tunity of displaying these virtues in his government of 
France ; and though recalled by the intrigues and superior 
interest of the duke of Somerset, he had been sent to sup- 
press a rebellion in Ireland ; and had even been able to 
attach to his person and family the whole Irish nation, 
whom he was sent to subdue. In the right of his father, 
he bore the rank of first prince of the blood ; and by this' 
station he gave a lustre to his title derived from the family 
of Mortimer, which, however, had been echpsed by the 
royal descent of the house of Lancaster. He possessed 
an immense fortune from the union of so many succes- 
sions, those of Cambridge and York on the one hand, 
with those of Mortimer on the other ; which last inherit- 
ance had before been augmented by an union of th^ 
estates of Clarence and Ulster, with the patrimonial pos- 



flENRY VI. 137 

sessions of the family of Marche. The alliance too of 
Richard, by his marrying the daughter of Ralph Nevil^ 
earl of Westmoreland, had widely extended his interest 
among the nobility, and had procured him many connex-* 
ions in that formidable order. Among the rest he was 
nearly allied to the earl of Warwick, commonly known, 
from the subsequent events, by the appellation of the King- 
maker. This nobleman had distinguished himself by his 
gallantry in the field, by the hospitality of his table, by 
the magnificence, and still more by the generosity of his 
expense, and by the spirited and bold manner which at- 
tended him in all his actions. The undesigning frankness 
and openness of his character rendered his conquest over 
men's affections the more certain. No less than thirty 
thousand persons are said to have daily lived at his ex- 
pense in the different manors and castles which he possess- 
ed ; and he was the greatest, as well as the last, of those 
mighty barons, who formerly overawed the crown. 

The humours of the people, set afloat by a parliamen- 
tary impeachment^ and by the fall of the duke of Suffolk, 
broke out in various commotions, which were soon sup- 
pressed ; but an insurrection in Kent was attended with 
more dangerous consequences. One John Cade, a native 
of Ireland, a man of low condition, who had been obliged 
to fly into France for crimes, observed, on his return to 
England, the discontents of the people, and assumed the 
name of John Mortimer. On the first mention of that 
popular name, the common people of Kent, to the number 
of twenty thousand, flocked to Cade's standard ; and he 
inflamed their zeal by publishing complaints against the 
numerous abuses in government, and demanding a redress 
of grievances. Cade advanced with his followers towards 
London, and encamped on Blackheath ; and transmitting 
to the court a plausible list of grievances, he promised 
that when these should be redressed, and lord Say the 
treasurer, and Cromer sheriff'of Kent, should be punished 
for their malversations, he would immediately lay down 
his arms. The council, perceiving the reluctance of the 
people to fight against men so reasonable in their preten- 
sions, carried the king, for present safety, to Kenilwortli ; 
and the city immediately opened its gates to Cade, who 
maintained, during some time, great order and discipline 



I3t& HISTORY eP INGLAND. 

iraong his followers. But being obliged, in order to gra- 
tify their malevolence against Say and Cromer, to put 
these men to death without a legal trial, he found that af- 
ter the commission of this crime, he was no longer able to 
control their riotous disposition, and that all his orders were 
disobeyed. Proceeding to acts of plunder and violencOj 
the citizens became alarmed, and shut their gates against 
them ; and, being seconded by a detachment of soldiers 
sent them by lord Scales, governor of the tower, they re- 
pulsed the rebels with great slaughter. The Kentishmen 
were so discouraged by the blow, that upon receiving a 
general pardon from the primate, then chancellor, they 
retreated towards Rochester, and there dispersed. The 
pardon, however, was soon after annulled, as extorted by 
violence ; a price was set on Cade's head, who was killed 
by one Iden, a gentleman of Sussex ; and many of his foK 
lowers were punished with death. 

The court suspected that the duke of York had secretly 
instigated Cade to this attempt, to sound the dispositions 
of the people towards his title and family ; and fearing 
that he intended to return from Ireland with an armed 
force, the ruling party issued orders debarring him en- 
trance into England. The duke refuted his enemies by 
coming attended with only his ordinary retinue ; but find- 
ing himself an object of jealousy, he saw the impossibility 
of remaining a quiet subject, and the necessity of pro- 
ceeding forwards in support of his claim. His partisans, 
therefore, v/ere instructed to maintain his right by succes- 
sion, and by the established constitution of the kingdom ; 
and the arguments adduced by his adherents and those of 
the reigning family divided and distracted the people. 
The noblemen of greatest influence espoused the part of 
the duke of York ; but the earl of Northumberland adher- 
ed to the present government ; and the earl of Westmore- 
land, though head of the family of Nevii, was prevailed on 
to support the cause of Henry. 

The public discontents were increased by the loss of 
the province of Gascony, which was subdued by the 
French ; and though the English might deem themselves 
happy in being freed from all continental possessions, 
they expressed great dissatisfaction on the occasion, and 
threw all the blame on the ministry. While they were in 



HENRY VI. 139 

this disposition, the queen's delivery of a son, who received 
the name of Edward, had a tendency to inflame ihe pub- 
lic mind, as it removed all hopes of the peaceable succes- 
sion of the duke of York, who was otherwise, in the right 
of his father, and by the laws enacted since the accession 
of the house of Lancaster, next heir to the crown. The 
duke, however, was incapable of violent councils ; and 
even when no visible obstacles lay between him and the 
throne, he was prevented by his own scruples from mount- 
ing it. Henry, always unfit to exercise the government, 
fell about this time into a distemper, which so far increased 
his natural imbecility, that it rendered him incapable of 
maintaining even the appearance of royalty. The queen 
and the council, destitute of this support, and finding 
themselves unable to resist the York party, were obliged 
to yield to the torrent. They sent to the tower the duke 
of Somerset, who had succeeded to Sufl^'olk's influence in 
the ministry, and who had soon become equally the object 
of public animosity and hatred ; and they appointed Rich- 
ard lieutenant of the kingdom, with powers to open and 
hold a session of parliament. That assembly also, taking 
into consideration the state of the kingdom, created him 
protector during pleasure. Yet the duke, instead of push- 
ing them to make farther concessi(ms, appeared somewhat 
timid and irresolute, even in receiving the power which 
was tendered to him. This moderation of Richard was 
certainly very unusual and very amiable ; yet was it at- 
tended with bad consequences in the present juncture, and, 
by giving time to the animosities of faction to rise and 
ferment, it proved the source of all those furious wars and 
commotions which ensued. 

The enemies of the duke of York soon found it in their 
power to make advantage of his excessive caution. Henry, 
being so far recovered from his distemper as to carry the 
appearance of exercising the royal power, was moved to 
resume his authority, to annul the protectorship of the 
duke, to release Somerset from the tower, and to commit 
the administration into the hands of that nobleman. 
Richard, sensible of the dangers to which he might be 
exposed, if he submitted to the annulling of the parlia- 
mentary commission, levied an army ; but still without 
advancing any pretensions to the crown. He complained 

13 



(AO HIST6RY OF ENGLAND, 

only of the king's ministers, and demanded a reformatioii 
^ ^ of the government. A battle was fought at St. 
^^^^ Alban's, in which the Yorkists, without suffering 
any material loss, slew about five thousand of their 
enemies. The king himself fell into the hands of the duke 
of York, who treated him with great respect and tender- 
ness ; and he was only obliged, which he regarded as no 
hardship, to commit the whole authority of the crown into 
the hands of his rival. This was the first blood spilt in 
that fatal quarrel between the houses of York and Lancas- 
ter, which lasted for thirty years, and which ih computed 
to have cost the lives of eighty princes of the blood, and 
almost entirely annihilated the ancient nobility of England. 
An outward reconciliation was effected, by means of the 
archbishop of Canterbury, between the two parties ; but 
it was evident, that the contest for a crown could not thus 
be peaceably accommodated. One of the king's retinue 
insulted one of the earl of Warwick's, and their compan- 
ions on both sides took part in the quarrel ; a fierce com- 
bat ensued ; the earl, apprehending his life to be aimed at, 
fled to his government of Calais, which gave him the com- 
mand of the only regular force maintained by England ; 
and both parties, in every county, openly made prepara- 
tions for deciding the contest by arms. 

The earl of Salisbury, marching to join the duke of 
York, was overtaken at Blore-heath, on the borders of 
Staffordshire, by lord Audley, who commanded much 
superior forces. A small rivulet ran between the two 
armies ; and when the van of the royal army had passed 
the brook, Salisbury suddenly attacked them, and put 
them to the rout ; and obtaining a complete victory, he 
reached the general rendezvous of the Yorkists at Ludlow. 
To the same place, the earl of Warwick brought a choice 
body of veterans from Calais, on whom it was thought the 
fortune of the war would much depend ; but vv^hen the 
royal army approached, and a general action was every 
hour expected, sir Andrew Trollop, who commanded the 
veterans, deserted to the king in the night time, and the 
Yorkists were so dismayed at this instance of treachery, 
which made every man suspicious of his fellow, that they 
separated next day, without striking a stroke. The duke 
fled to Ireland ; the earl of Warwick, attended by manv 



HENRY VI., 141 

of the other leaders, escaped to Calais, where his great 
popularity among all orders of men soon drew to him par- 
tisans ; and the friends of the house of York, in England, 
kept themselves every where in readiness to rise on the 
first summons. 

After meeting with some success at sea, Warwick land- 
ed in Kent, with the earl of Sahsbury, and the earl of 
Marche, eldest son of the duke of York ; and being met 
by the primate, by lord Cobhara, and other persons of dis- 
tinction, he marched, amidst the acclamations of the peo- 
ple, to London. A battle was fought at Northampton, 
and was soon decided against the royalists, of whom the 
duke of Buckingham, the earl of Shrewsbury, the lords 
Beaumont and Egremont, and sir William Lucie, with 
many other persons of quahty, were killed in the action 
or pursuit. Henry himself was again taken prisoner ; and, 
as the innocence and simplicity of his manners had pro- 
cured him the tender regard of the people, he was treated 
with abundant respect, 

A parliament ,was summoned in the king's name at 
Westminster, where the duke of York soon after appeared 
from Ireland. This prince stated to the house of peers his 
own claim to the crown, and exhorted them to do justice 
to the lineal successor. The lords remained in some sus- 
pense, but at length declared in favour of the duke of York. 
'J'hey determined, however, that Henry should possess the 
dignity during the remainder of his life ; that the adminis- 
tration of the government should in the mean while remain 
with Richard ; and that he should be acknowledged the 
true and lawful heir of the monarchy. 

But Margaret, whose high spirit spurned at the com- 
pact, was not remiss in defending the rights of her family. 
After the battle of Northampton, she had fled with her in- 
fant son to the north, where her affability, insinuation, and 
address, among the northern barons, raised her an army 
twenty thousand strong, with a celerity which was neither 
expected by her friends, nor apprehended by her enemies. 
The duke of York, informed of her appearance in the 
north, hastened thither with a body of five thousand men ; 
but on his arrival at Wakefield, finding himself so much 
outnumbered by the enemy, he threw himself into Sandal 
rastle ; and was advised by the earl of Sahsbury and other 



142 HISTOKY OF ENGLAND. 

prudent counsellors, to remain in that fortress, till his son., 
the earl of Marche, who was levying forces in the borders 
of Wales, could advance to his assistance. But the duke, 
who possessed personal bravery in an eminent degree, 
thought that he should be for ever disgraced, if, by taking 
shelter behind walls, he should for a moment resign the 
victory to a woman. He therefore descended into the 
plain, and offered battle to the enemy, which was instantly 
accepted. The great inequality of numbers was alone 
sufficient to decide the victory ; but the queen, by sending 
a detachment, who fell on the back of the duke's army, 
rendered her advantage still more certain and undisputed. 
The duke himself was killed in the action ; and his head, 
by Margaret's orders, was fixed on the gates of York, with 
a paper crown, in derision of his pretended title. There 
fell near three thousand Yorkists in this battle : the duke 
himself was greatly and justly lamented by his own party. 
He perished in the fiftieth year of his age, and left three 
sons, Edward, George, and Richard, with three daughters, 
Anne, Elizabeth, and Margaret. 

The queen, after this important victory, divided her ar- 
my. She sent the smaller division, under Jasper Tudor, 
earl of Pembroke, half brother to the king, against Ed- 
ward, the new duke of York. She herself marched with 
the larger division towards London, where the earl of 
Warwick had been left with the command of the Yorkists. 
Pembroke was defeated by Edward at Mortimer's Cross, 
in Herefordshire, with the loss of near four thousand men : 
but Margaret compensated this defeat by a victory which 
she obtained over the earl of Warwick at St. Alban's ; and 
the person of the king fell again into the hands of his own 
party. 

The queen, however, reaped no great advantage from 
this victory. Young Edward advanced upon her from 
the other side ; and collecting the remains of Warwick's 
army, he was soon in a condition of giving her battle 
with superior force. Sensible of her danger, she found it 
necessary to retreat with her army to the north ; and Ed- 
ward entered the capital amidst the acclamations of the 
citizens. Instead of confining himself to the narrow limits 
to which his father had submitted, he determined to avail 
himself of his popularity, and to assume the name and 



EDWARD rv. 143 

dignity of king. His army was ordered to assemble in 
St. John's Fields ; great numbers of people surrounded 
them ; an harangue was pronounced to this mixed multi- 
tude, setting forth the title of Edward, and inveighing 
against the tyranny and usurpation of the rival family ; 
and the people were then asked, whether they would 
accept of Edward, eldest son of the late duke of York, 
for their king 1 They expressed their assent by loud and 
joyful acclamations. A great number of bishops, lords, 
magistrates, and other persons of distinction, were 
next assembled at Baynard's castle, who ratified -i^oi 
the popular election ; and the new king was on the 
subsequent day proclaimed in London, by the title of Ed- 
ward the Fourth. 

In this manner ended the reign of Henry VI. a monarch 
who, while in his cradle, had been proclaimed king both 
of France and England, and who began his life with the 
most splendid prospects that any prince in Europe had 
ever enjoyed. His weakness and his disputed title were 
the chief causes of the ])ublic calamities : but whether his 
queen, and his ministers, were not also guilty of some 
great abuses of power, it is not easy for us at this distance 
of time to determine. The scaifold, as well as the field, 
incessantly streamed with the noblest blood of England, 
spilt in the quarrel between the two contending families, 
whose animosity was now become imi>lacable. The par- 
tisans of the house of Lancaster chose the red rose as 
their mark of distinction ; those of York were denomi- 
nated from the white ; and these civil wars were thus 
known, over Europe, by the name of the quarrel between 
the two roses. 

Queen Margaret assembled an army in Yorkshire ; and 
the king and the earl of Warwick hastened with forty 
thousand men tvj check her progress. In a skirmish for 
the passage of Ferrybridge over the river Ayre, the York- 
ists were chased back with areat slaughter. The earl of 
Warwick, dreading the consequences of this disaster, at a 
time when a decisive action was every hour expected, 
immediately ordered his horse to be brought him, which 
lie stabbed before the whole army ; and kissing the hilt of 
his sword, sw^ore that he was determined to share the fate 
lof the meanest soldier. And, to show the greater security., 

13* 



144 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

a proclamation was at the same time issued, giving to eve- 
ry one full liberty to retire ; but menacing the severest 
punishment to those who should discover any symptoms of 
cowardice in the ensuing battle. 

The hostile armies met at Teuton ; and a fierce and 
bloody baitle ensued, which ended in a total victory on 
the side of the Yorkists. Edward issued orders to give 
no quarter. The routed army was pursued to Tadcaster 
with great bloodshed and confusion ; and above thirty-six 
thousand men are computed to have fallen in the battle 
and pursuit : among these were the earl of Westmoreland, 
and his brother, sir John Nevil, the earl of Northumber- 
land, the lords Dacres and Welles, and sir Andrew Trol- 
lop. The earl of Devonshire, who was now engaged in 
Henry's party, was brought a prisoner to Edward ; and 
was, soon after, beheaded by martial law at York. Henry 
and Margaret had rema^ined at York during the action ; 
but learning the defeat of their army, and being sensible 
that no place in England could now afford them shelter, 
they fled with great precipitation into Scotland ; and on 
Margaret's offering to the Scottish council to deliver to 
them iiTfimediately the important fortress of Berwick, and 
to contract her son in marriage with a sister of king James, 
the Scots promised the assistance of their arms to reinstate 
her family upon the throne. 

But as the danger from that quarter seemed not very 
urgent to Edward, he did not pursue the fugitive king and 
queen into their retreat ; but returned to London, where a 
parliament was summoned for settling the government. 
That assembly no longer hesitated between the two fami- 
lies ; they recognised the title of Edward, and passed an 
act of attainder against Henry and Margaret, against their 
iiifant son Edward, and their principal adherents. 

However, Lewis the eleventh of France, a prince of an 
intriguing and pohtic genius, sent a body of two thousand 
men at arms to the assistance of Henry. These enabled 
Margaret to take the field ; but though reinforced by a 
numerous train of adventurers from Scotland, and by 
many partisans of the family of Lancaster, she received 
a check at Hedgley-moor from lord Montague, brother to 
the earl of Warwick, who was so encouraged with this 
success, that, while a numerous reinforcement was on 



^ HENRY VT. 145 

their march to join him by orders from Edward, he ven- 
tured, with his own troops alone, to attack the Lancas- 
trians at Hexham ; and obtained a complete victory over 
them. All those who were spared in the field suffered on 
the scaffold ; and the utter extermination of their ad' er- 
saries was now become the plain object of the York 
party. 

The fate of the unfortunate royal family, after this de- 
feat, was singular. Margaret, fleeing with her son in o a 
forest, was beset, during the darkness of the night, by 
robbers, who despoiled her of her rings and jewels, and 
treated her with the utmost indii^aity. The partition of 
this rich booty raised a quarrel among them ; and while 
their attention was thus engaged, she took an opportunity 
of j/lunging with her son into the depths of the forest. 
While in this wretched condition, she saw a robber ap- 
proach with his naked sword ; and finding that she had no 
means of escape, she suddenly advanced towards him ; 
^rid presentmg to him the young prince, called out to him, 
" Here, my friend, I commit to your care the safety of 
your king's son." The man, whose humanity and gene- 
rous spirit had been obscured, not entirely lost, by his 
vicious course of life, was charmed with the confidence 
reposed in him, and vowed not only to abstain from all 
injury against the princess, but to devote himself entirely 
to her service. By his means she dwell some time con- 
cealed in the forest, and was at last conducted to the sea- 
coast, whence she made her escape into Flanders. She 
passed thence to her father's court, where she lived sev ral 
years in privacy and retirement. Her husband was not so 
fortunate nor so dexterous in finding the means of escape. 
Some of his friends took him under their protection, and 
conveyed him into Lancashire, where he remained conceal- 
ed during a year ; but he was at last detected, deli- 
vered up to Edward, and thrown into the Tower. ^ " i^ 
The preservation of his life was owing less to the ? 
generosity of his enemies than to the contempt which they 
had entertained of his courage and understanding. 

The imprisonment of Henry, the expulsion of Margaret, 
and the execution and confiscation of all the most eminent 
Lancastrians, seemed to give full security to Edward's 
government ; but the amorous temper of the prince led 



148 HISTORY OT ENGLAND. 

him into an act which proved fatal to his repose, and 16 
the stability of his throne. EHzabeth Grey, daughter of 
the duchess of Bedford, by her second marriage with sir 
Richard Woodville, and widow of sir John Grey of Groby, 
who had been slain in the second battle of St. Albans, 
lighting on the side of Lancaster, and whose estate had 
been confiscated, seized the opportunity, when the king 
was on a visit to the duchess of Bedford, of throwing her- 
self at his feet, and entreating his pity for her impover- 
ished and distressed children. The sight of so much beauty 
in affliction strongly affected Edward ; and he was redu- 
ced, in his turn, to the posture of a supplicant at the feet of 
Elizabeth. But the lady was either averse to dishonoura- 
ble love, or inflamed with ambition ; and the caresses and 
importunities of the young and amiable Edward proved 
fruitless against her rigid and inflexible virtue. His pas- 
sion, increased by opposition, carried him beyond all 
bounds ; and he offered to share with her his throne as 
well as his heart. The marriage was privately celebrated 
at Grafton ; and the secret was carefully kept for some 
time, from motives of policy, which at that time rendered 
this proceeding highly dangerous and imprudent. 

The king had a little before cast his eye on Bona of 
Savoy, sister of the queen of France, who, he hoped, 
would, by her marriage, ensure him the friendship of that 
power, which was alone both able and inclined to give 
support and assistance to his rival. To render the nego- 
tiation more successful, the earl of Warwick had been des- 
patched to Paris, where the princess then resided. This 
•nobleman had demanded Bona in marriage for the king ; 
his proposals had been accepted ; and nothing remained 
but the ratification of the terms agreed on, and the bringing 
over the princess to England. But when the secret of 
Edward's marriage broke out, the haughty earl, deeming 
himself affronted, returned to England, inflamed with rage 
and indignation ; and an extensive and dangerous combi- 
iiation was insensibly formed against Edward and his min- 
istry. A rebellion arose in Lincolnshire, and was headed 
by sir Robert Welles, son to the lord of that name ; but 
the king defeated the army of the rebels, took, their leader 
prisoner, and ordered him immediately to execution. 

Edward had entertained so little jealousy of the earl of 



HENRY Vi. 147 

Warwick or duke of Clarence, the king's second brother, 
tvho had married the earl's eldest daughter, that he sent 
them with commissions of array to levy forces against the 
rebels ; but these malcontents, as soon as they left the . 
court, raised troops in their own name, issued declarations 
against the government, and complained of grievances, 
oppressions, and bad ministers. The unexpected defeat 
of Welles disconcerted all their measures ; and they were 
obliged to disband their army, and to fly into Devonshire, 
whence they embarked and made sail towards Calais. 

The king of France, jealous of the alliance entered 
into between Edward and the duke of Burgundy, received 
Warwick with the greatest demonstrations of regard, and 
hoped to make him his instrument for re-establishing the 
house of Lancaster. Margaret being sent for from Angers, 
w^here she then resided, an agreement dictated by mutual 
interest was soon concluded between them. Edward ^ 
however, foresaw that it would be easy to dissolve an al- 
liance composed of such discordant materials. He em- 
ployed a lady in the train of the duchess of Clarence, to 
represent to the duke that he had unwarily become the 
instrument of Warwick's vengeance, and had formed a 
connexion with the murderers of his father, and the im- 
placable enemies of his family. Clarence, struck with the 
force of these arguments, on a promise of forgiveness, se- 
cretly engaged to abandon the Lancastrian party. War- 
wick also was secretly carrying on a correspondence of 
the same nature with his brother, the marquis of Mon- 
tague, who was entirely trusted by Edward ; and like mo- 
tives produced a like resolution in that nobleman. War- 
wick availed himself of a storm to cross the channel, and, 
with a small body of French troops, landed at Dartmouth, 
accompanied by the duke of Clarence, and the earls of 
Oxford and Pembroke. 

Edward, though brave and active, had little foresight. 
He had made no preparations for this event ; and 
lie had even said, that he wished for nothing more ^\,^q 
than to see Warwick on English ground. How- 
ever the prodigious popularity of that nobleman, the zeal 
■of the Lancastrian party, and the spirit of discontent with 
which many were infected, drew such multitudes to his 
.slandard, that in a few days his army amounted to sixty 



148 HISTORT OF ENGLAND. 

thousand men, and was continually increasing. Edward, 
who had been employed in suppressing an insurrection in 
the north, now hastened southward to encounter him ; and 
the two armies approached each other near Nottingham. 
The rapidity of Warwick's progress had incapacitated the 
duke of Clarence from executing his plan of treachery ; 
but the marquis of Montague, having communicated the 
design to his adherents, took to arms in the night-time, 
and hastened with loud acclamations to Edward's quarters. 
The king had just time to get on horseback, and to hurry 
with a small retinue at Lynn, in Norfolk, where finding 
some ships ready, he instantly embarked. Thus, the earl 
of Warwick, in no longer space than eleven days after his 
first landing, was left entire master of the kingdom. 

Immediately after Edward's flight, Warwick hastened to 
London ; and delivered Henry from his confinement in 
the Tower, he proclaimed him king with great solemnity ; 
and every thing now promised a full settlement of the Eng- 
lish crown in the family of Lancaster. However, Edward 
being assisted by the duke of Burgundy, his brother-in 
law, though in a covert way, he set sail for England ; and 
impatient to take vengeance on his enemies, he made an 
attempt to land with his forces, which did not exceed two 
thousand men, on the coast of Norfolk ; but being there 
repulsed he sailed northward, and disembarked at Ra- 
venspur in Yorkshire. Finding that the new magistrates, 
who had been appointed by the earl of Warwick kept the 
people every where from joining him, he pretended, and 
even made oath, that he came not to challenge the crown, 
but only the inheritance of the house of York, which of 
right belonged to him ; and that he did not intend to dis- 
turb the peace of the kingdom. His partisans every mo- 
ment flocked to his standard : he was admitted into the 
city of York ; and he was soon in such a situation as gave 
him hopes of succeeding in all his former claims and pre- 
tensions. Warwick assembled an army at Leicester, with 
an intention of meeting, and of giving battle to the enemy ; 
but Edward, by taking another road, passed him unmo- 
lested, and presented himself before the gates of London. 
His numerous friends facilitated his admission into the 
capital ; and his entrance into London made him master not- 
mily of that rich and powerful city, but also of the person 



HENRY VI. 149 

of Henry, who, destined to be the perpetual sport of for- 
tune, again fell into the hands of his enemies. 

7'he king soon found himself in a condition to face the 
carl of Warwick, who, being reinforced by his son-in-law, 
the duke of Clarence, and his brother the marquis of Mon- 
tague, took post at Barnet, in the vicinity of London. 
His brother Montague seems to have remained attached 
to the interests of his family, but his son-in-law, though 
bound to him by every tie of honour and gratitude, re- 
solved to fulfil the secret engagements which he had for- 
merly taken with his brother, and deserted to the king in 
the night time, carrying over a body of twelve thousand 
men along with him. Warwick was now too far advanced 
to retreat ; and as he rejected with disdain all terms of 
accommodation otfered him by Edward and Clarence, he 
was obliged to hazard a general engagement. The 
battle was fought with obstinacy on both sides ; i^«/ 
and the victory remained long undecided between 
them. But an accident threw the balance on the side of 
the Yorkists. Warwick engaged that day on foot, and 
was slain in the thickest of the engagement ; his brother 
underwent the same fate ; and as Edward had issued or- 
ders not to give any quarter, a great and undistinguished 
slaughter was made in the pursuit. 

The same day on which this decisive battle was fought, 
queen Margaret and her son, now about eighteen years 
of age, and a young prince of great hopes, landed at 
Weymouth, supported by a small body of French forces. 
She advanced through the counties of Devon, Somerset, 
and Gloucester, increasing her army on each day^s march ; 
but was at last overtaken by the rapid and expeditious 
Edward at Tewkesbury, on the banks of the Severn. The 
Lancastrians were here totally defeated ; and the army 
was entirely dispersed. 

Queen Margaret and her son were taken prisoners, and 
brought to the king, who asked the prince, after an insult- 
ing manner, how he dared to invade his dominions ? The 
young prince, more mindful of his high birth than of his 
present fortune, replied, that he came thither to claim his 
just inheritance. The ungenerous Edward, insensible to 
pity, struck him on the face with his gauntlet ; and the 
dukes of Clarence and Gloucester^ lord Hastings, and sir 



150 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

Thomas Gray, taking the blow as a signal for further vio- 
lence, hurried the prince into the next apartment, and 
there despatched hioi with their daggers. Margaret was 
thrown into the Tower : king Henry died in that confine- 
ment a few days after the battle of Tewkesbury ; but whe- 
ther he died a natural or a violent death is uncertain. It 
is pretended, and was generally believed, that the duke of 
Gloucester killed him with his own hands : but the uni- 
versal odium which that prince has incurred, inclined 
perhaps the nation to aggravate his crimes without any 
sufficient authority. 

All the hopes of the house of Lancaster seemed now 
utterly extinguished ; and Edward was firmly established 
on the throne of Edgland. This prince was active and in- 
trepid in adversity, but unable to resist the allurements of 
prosperity. He now devoted himself to pleasure and 
amusement ; but he was roused from his lethargy by the 
prospect of foreign conquests. He formed a league with 
the duke of Burgundy to invade France ; and, for this pur- 
pose, the parliament voted him a tenth of rents, or two 
shillings in the pound, which produced only 31,460/. ; and 
they added to this supply a whole fifteenth, and three- 
quarters of another ; but as the king deemed these sums 
stiil unequal to the undertaking, he attempted to levy 
money by way of benevolence ; a kind of exaction which, 
except during the reigns of Henry the Third and Richard 
the Second, had not been much practised informer times,, 
and which, though the consent of the parties were pre- 
tended to be gained, could not be deemed entirely volun- 
tary. 

The king passed over to Calais with an army of fifteen 
hundred men at arms, and fifteen thousand archers : 
J *jI' but all his hopes of conquest were damped, when 
^" he found that the constable St. Pol, who had se- 
cretly promised to join him, did not receive him into the 
towns of which he was master, nor the duke of Burgundy 
bring him the smallest assistance. This circumstance 
gave great disgust to the king, and inclined him to hearken 
to the pacific overtures of Lewis, who consented to pay Ed- 
ward immediately seventy-five thousand crowns, on condi- 
tion that he should withdraw his army from France, and 
|iromised to pay him fifty thousand crowns % year during 



HENRY VI. 13-1 

their joint lives. It was farther stipulated, that the da\t- 
phin, when of age, should marry Edward's eldest daughter. 
The articles of this treaty were ratified in a personal inter- 
view which the two monarchs had at Pacquigni, near 
Amiens. This treaty was little honourable to either of 
these monarchs ; it discovered the imprudence of Edward, 
and the want of dignity in Lewis, who, rather than hazard 
% battle, agreed to subject his kingdom to a tribute. The 
most honourable part of it was the stipulation for the liberty 
of queen Margaret, who, though after the death of her hus- 
band and son, she could no longer be formidable to go- 
vernment, was still detained in custody by Edward. Lewis 
paid fifty thousand crowns for her ransom ; and that prin- 
cess, who had been so active on the stage of the world., 
and who had experienced such a variety of fortune, passed 
the remainder of her days in tranquillity and privacy, till 
the year 1482, when she died. 

Edward abandoned himself entirely to indolence and 
pleasure, which were now become his ruling passions ; but 
an act of tyranny, of which he was guilty in his own fami- 
ly, has met with general and deserved censure. The duke 
pf Clarence, after all his services in deserting Warwick^ 
itiad never been able to regain the king's friendship. He 
was also an object of displeasure to the queen, as well as 
to his brother, the duke of Gloucester, a prince of the deep- 
est policy, and the most unrelenting ambition. A combi- 
nation between these potent adversaries being secretly 
formed against Clarence, it was determined to begin by at- 
tacking his friends, of whom several were put to death for 
the most trivial offences. Clarence, instead of securing 
his own life by silence and reserve, was open and loud iu 
exclaiming against the iniquity of their persecutors. The 
king, highly offended with his freedom, or using that pre- 
tence against him, committed him to the Tower, summoned 
a parliament, and tried him for his life before the house of 
peers, on charges the most frivolous and futile. A sen- 
tence of condemnation, however, was a necessary conse- 
quence in those times, of any prosecution by the court or 
the prevailing party ; and the duke of Clarence was pro- 
nounced guilty by the peers. The house of commons were 
no less slavish and unjust : they both petitioned for the ex- 
ecution of the duke, and afterwards passed a bill of attain 

H 



15% HISTORV OP EMttLAND. 

der against him. The only favour which the king granted 
his brother, after his condemnation, was to leave him the 
choice of his death ; and he was privately drowned in a 
butt of malmsey in the Tower ; a whimsical choice, which 
implies that he had an extraordinary passion for that li- 
quor. 

All the energies of Edward's reign seem to have termi- 
nated with the civil wars : his spirit afterwards sunk intd 
indolence and pleasure. Whilst, however, he was making 
preparations for a war against France, he was seized with 
a distemper of which he died in the forty-second year of 
his age, and the twenty-third of his reign. Besides five 
daughters, Edward left two sons ; Edward prince of W ales, 
his successor, then in his thirteenth yes^, and Richard 
duke of York, in his ninth. * 

The king, on his death-bed, had entrusted the regency 

to his brother, the duke of Gloucester, then absent in the 

north ; and he recommended to the rival nobles 

ft TV 

lifts P^^^^ ^^^ unanimity during the tender years of his 
* son. But he had no sooner expired, than the jea- 
lousies of the parties broke out ; and each of them endea- 
voured to obtain the favour of the duke of Gloucester, 

This prince, whose unbounded ambition led him to car- 
ry his views to the possession of the crown itself, prevailed 
on the queen, by profession of zeal and attachment, to 
countermand the order which she had issued to her brother, 
the earl of Rivers, to levy a body of forces, and to direct 
him to bring up the young king from Ludlow to London, 
with only his ordinary retinue. In the mean time, the 
duke of Gloucester set out from York, attended by a nu- 
merous train of the northern gentry. When he reached 
Northampton, he was joined by the duke of Buckingham, 
who was also attended by a splendid retinue ; and after 
being met by the earl of Rivers, who had sent his pupil 
forward to Stony Stratford, they all proceeded on the road 
the next day to the king ; but as they entered Stony Strat- 
ford, the earl of Rivers was arrested by orders from the 
duke of Gloucester, together with sir Richard Gray, one 
of the queen's sons, and instantly conducted to Pomfret. 
On intelligence of her brother's imprisonment the queen 
fled into the sanctuary of Westminster^ attended by the 



HENRY VI, 163 

marquis of Dorset ; and she carried thither the five prin- 
cesses, together with the duke of York. But Gloucester, 
anxious te have the duke of York also in his power, em- 
ployed the archbishops of Canterbury and York, wh©, 
duped by the villain's artifice and dissimulation, prevailed 
on the queen to deliver up the prince, that he might be 
present at the coronation of his brother. 

The council, without waiting for the consent of parlia- 
ment, had already invested the duke of Gloucester with 
the high dignity of protector ; and having so far succeeded 
in his views, he no longer hesitated in removing the other 
obstructions which lay between him and the throne. The 
death of the earl of Rivers, and of the other prisoners de- 
tained in Pon^fret, was first determined ; and he easily 
obtained the consent of the duke of Buckingham, as well 
as of Lord Hastings, to this violent and sanguinary mea- 
sure, which was promptly executed. 
The protector then assailed the fidelity of Buckingham, by 
specious arguments, and offers of great private advantages, 
and obtained from him a promise of supporting him in all 
his enterprises. Knowing the importance of gaining lord 
Hastings, he sounded him at a distance ; but finding him im- 
pregnable in his allegiance and fidelity to the children of Ed- 
ward, he determined on his destruction. Having summoned 
a council in the Tower, whither that nobleman, suspecting 
no design against him, repaired without hesitation, the pro- 
tector asked them, what punishment those deserved that 
had plotted against his life, who was so nearly related to the 
king, and was entrusted with the administration of govern- 
ment ? Hastings replied, that they merited the punishment 
of traitors. "These traitors," cried the protector, "are 
the sorcerers, my brother's wife, and Jane Shore, his 
mistress, with others, their associates : see to what a con- 
dition they have reduced me, by their incantations and 
witchcraft ;" upon which he laid bare his arm, all shrivelled 
and decayed. The counsellors, who knew that this infir- 
mity had attended him from his birth, looked on each other 
with amazement ; and above all lord Hastings, who, as 
he had since Edward's death engaged in an intrigue with 
Jane Shore, was naturally anxious concerning the issue of 
these extraordinary proceedings. " Certainly, my lord," 
said he, ** if they be guilty of these crimes, they deservf- 



154* HrSTOfHV OF EITGLANDo 

the severest punishment." '* And do you reply to me, 
exclaimed the protector, " with your ifs and your ands ? 
i'^ou are the chief abettor of that witch Shore ; you are 
yourself a traitor ; and I swear by St. Paul, that I will not 
dine before your head be brought me." He struck the 
table with his hand : armed men rushed in at the signal : 
the counsellors were thrown into the utmost consternation ; 
and Hastings being seized, was hurried away, and in* 
stantly beheaded on a timber-log, which lay in the court 
of the Tower. 

After the murder of Hastings, the protector no longer 
made a secret of his intention to usurp the crown. A re^ 
port was industriously circulated, that Edward, before es- 
pousing the lady Elizabeth Gray, had been privately mar- 
ried to the lady Eleanor Talbot, and that consequently 
the offspring of the last marriage were illegitimate. In an 
assembly of the citizens convoked for the purpose, the 
duke of Buckingham harangued the people on the protec' 
tor's title to the crown ; when, after several useless efforts., 
some of the meanest apprentices raised a feeble cry of 
" God save King Richard !" This was deemed sufficient : 
and the crown was formally tendered to Richard, who pre- 
tended to refuse it, but was at length prevailed on to ac- 
cept the offer. This ridiculous farce was soon after fol- 
lowed by a scene truly tragical : the murder of the two 
young princes, who were smothered by hired ruffians in 
the Tower, and whose bodies were buried at the foot of 
the stairs, deep in the ground, under a heap of stones.^' 



CHAP. IX. 

The Reigns of Hichard III. and Henry Vll. 

The first acts of Richard were to bestow rewards on 

those who had assisted him in usurping the crown ; but 

the person who, from the greatness of his services, was 

best entitled to favours under the new government, was 

* In the reign of Charles II. the bones of two persons were found 
in the place above mentioned, which exactly corresponded by 
their size to the ages of Edward V. and his brother : and being 
considered as the undoubted remains of these prmces, they were 
<tepQ5ited in Westminster Abbey, under a marble tomb. 




Edzn'urd the Fourth and Elizabeth JVoodvi!.ii 




lurder of the Princes in the Tozver. 



EICHABD in. 155 

the duke of Buckingham ; and Richard seemed determined 
to spare no pains or bounty in securing him to his inter- 
ests. That nobleman was invested with the office of con- 
stable, and received a grant of the forfeited estate of Bohun, 
earlof Hereford. It was, however, impossible, that friend- 
ship could long remain inviolate between two men of such 
corrupt minds as Richard and the duke of Buckingham. 
Certain it is, that the duke, soon after Richard's accession, 
began to form a conspiracy against the government. 

By the exhortations of Morton, bishop of Ely, a zealous 
Lancastrian, the duke cast his eye toward the young earl 
©f Richmond, as the only person capable of opposing an 
usurper, whose murder of the young princes had rendered 
him the object of general detestation. Henry, earl of Rich- 
mond was at this time detained in a kind of honourable 
custody by the duke of Brittany ; .and his descent, which 
seemed to give him some pretensions to the crown, had 
been for some time a great object of jealousy. He was 
descended from John of Gaunt, and was nearly allied to 
Henry VI. 

As all the descendants of the house of York were now 
either women or minors, it was suggested by Morton, that 
the only means of overturning the present usurpation, was 
to unite the opposite factions, by contracting a marriage 
between the earl of Richmond and the princess Elizabeth, 
eldest daughter of Edward IV. ; and the queen-dowager, 
finding in this proposal the probable means of revenge for 
the murder of her brother and her three sons, gave her ap- 
probation to the project. But this conspiracy could not 
escape the jealous and vigilant eye of Richard ; he imme- 
diately levied troops, and summoning Buckingham to ap- 
pear at court, that nobleman replied only by taking arms 
in Wales. At that very time, however, there happened to 
fall such heavy rains, so incessant and continued, as ex- 
ceeded any known in the memory of man ; and the Severn, 
with the other rivers in that neighbourhood, swelled to a 
height which rendered them impassable,^ and prevented 
Buckingham from marching into the heart of England to 
join his associates. The Welshmen, partly moved by su- 
perstition at this extraordinary event, partly distressed by 
llamine in their camp, fell off from him ; and Buckingham, 
finding himself deserted by his followers, put oxa * dis^ruise, 



iSS HISTOaY OP ENGLAN»* 

and took shelter in the house of Bannister, an old servant 
ctf his family. But being detected in his retreat, he was 
brought to the king at SaUsbury, and was instantly exe- 
cuted. 
The king, fortified by this unsuccessful attempt to de- 
throne him, ventured at last to summon a parlia" 
1484 "^^^*» ^^ which his right to the crown was acknow- 
* ledged ; and his only son Edward, then a youth of 
twelve years of age, was created prince of Wales. To 
gain the confidence of the Yorkists, he paid court to the 
«lueen dowager, who ventured to leave her sanctuary, and 
to put herself and her daughters into the hands of the ty- 
Tant. But he soon carried farther his views for the esta- 
blishment of his throne. He had married Anne, the second 
daughter of the earl of Warwick, and widow of Edward 
prince of Wales, whom Richard himself had murdered j 
but this princess having borne him but one son, who died 
about this time, he considered her as an invincible obsta- 
cle to the settlement of his fortune, and he was believed to 
have carried her oflf by poison ; a crime which the usual 
tenor of his conduct made it reasonable to suspect. He 
now thought it in his power to remove the chief perils 
-which threatened his government. The earl of Richmond., 
he knew, could never be formidable but from his projected 
marriage with the princess Elizabeth, the true heir of the 
crown ; and he therefore intended, by means of a papal 
dispensation, to espouse, himself, this princess, and thus to 
unite in his own family their contending titles. The 
queen-dowager, eager to recover her lost authority, neither 
.scrupled this alliance, nor felt any horror at marrying her 
daughter to the murderer of her three sons and of her 
brother. She even joined so far her interests with those 
of the usurper, that she wrote to all her partisans, and 
among the rest, to her son the marquis of Dorest, desiring 
them to withdraw from the earl of Richmond ; an injury 
which the earl could never afterwards forgive. The court 
of Rome was applied to for a dispensation ; and Richard 
thought that he could easily defend himself during the iu; 
terval till it arrived, when he had the prospect of a full 
Ind secure settlement. 

But the crimes of Richard were so shocking to humanity', 
{^i every person of probity and honour was earnest te- 



RICHARD in. ib7 

|»revent the sceptre from being any longer polluted by htj§ 
bloody and faithless hand. All the exiles flocked to the 
earl of Richmond in Brittany, who, dreading treachery^ 
made his escape to the court of France. The ministers of 
Charles VIII. gave him assistance and protection ; and he 
Sailed from Harfleur in Normandy with a small army of 
about two thousand men, and landed without opposition at 
Milford-haven in Wales. 

But the danger to which Richard was chiefly exposed ^ 
proceeded not no much from the zeal of his open enemies^ 
as from the infidelity of his pretended friends. Except 
the duke of Norfolk, scarcely any nobleman was attached 
to his cause ; but the persons of whom he entertained the 
greatest suspicion, were lord Stanley and his brother sir 
William. When he employed lord Stanley to levy forces^ 
he still retained his eldest son lord Strange, as a pledge 
for his fidelity ; and that nobleman was, on this account, 
obliged to employ great caution and reserve in his proceed- 
ings. He raised a powerful body of his friends and re^ 
tainers in Cheshire and Lancashire, but without openlj"^ 
declaring himself; and though Henry had received secret 
assurances of his friendly intentions, the armies on both 
sides knew not what to infer from his equivocal behaviour. 

The two rivals at last approached each other at Bos- 
worth, near Leicester ; Henry, at the head of six thousand 
men, Richard with an army of above double that number. 
Stanley, who commanded above seven thousand men, took 
-care to post himself at Atherstone, not far from the hostile 
Camps ; and he made such a disposition as enabled him on 
occasion to join either party. Soon after the battle began. 
lord Stanley, whose conduct in this whole affair discovers 
great precaution and abilities, appeared in the field, and de- 
clared for the earl of Richmond. The intrepid tyrant, sensi- 
ble of his desperate situation, cast his eye around the field, 
and descrying his rival at no great distance, he drove against 
him with fury, in hopes that either Henry's death or his 
own would decide the victory between them. He killed 
with his own hands sir W^illiara Bradon, standard-bearer 
to the earl ; he dismounted sir John Cheyney ; he was 
now within reach of Richmond himself, who declined 
•not the combat ; when sir William Stanley, break- 
ing in with his troops, surrounded Richard, who ^* ®* 
fighting bravely, to the last moment,, was over- ' 



1 6.8 tflST<yRy OP ENGLAND, 

whelmed by numbers, and perished by a fate too mild and 
honourable for his multiplied and detestable enormities. 
His men every where sought for safety by flight. 

There fell in this battle about four thousand of the van- 
quished ; and among these the duke of Norfolk, lord Fer- 
rars of Chartley, and several other persons of high rank. 
The loss was inconsiderable on the side of the victors. The 
body of Richard was found in the field covered with dead 
enemies, and all besmeared with blood ; it was thrown 
carelessly across a horse ; carried to Leicester amidst the 
shouts of the insulting spectators ; and interred in the 
Grey- Friars church of that place. All historians agree, 
that Richard was ready to commit the most horrid crimes 
which appeared necessary for his purposes ; and it is cer- 
tain, that air his courage and capacity, qualities in which 
he really seems not to have been deficient, would never 
have made compensation to the people for the danger of 
the precedent, and for the contagious example of vice and 
murder, exalted upon the throne. This prince was of a 
small stature, hump-backed, and had a harsh, disagreeable 
countenance ; so that his body was in every particular no 
less deformed than his mind. 

The victory at Bosworth was entirely decisive ; and the 
carl of Richmond was immediately saluted with acclama- 
tions of " Long live Henry the Seventh !" He accepted 
the title without hesitation ; and asserting his claim to the 
throne as heir to the house of Lancaster, he determined 
never to allow it to be discussed. Though bound by 
honour, as well as by interest, to complete his alliance 
with the princess Elizabeth, yet he resolved to pestpone 
the nuptials till after the ceremony of his coronation, lest 
a preceding marriage with the princess should imply a 
participation of sovereignty in her, and raise doubts of 
his own title by the house of Lancaster, In order to 
heighten the splendour of the coronation, he bestowed the 
rank of knight-banneret on twelve persons ; and he con- 
ferred peerage on three. Jasper, earl of Pembroke, his 
uncle, was created duke of Bedford ; Thomas lord Stanley, 
liis father-in-law, earl of Derby ; and Edward Courtney, 
earl of Devonshire. At the coronation, likewise, there 
appeared a new institution, which the king had establishe^l 
fot security as well as pomp, a band of fifty archers, wh© 
were tcTined yeomen of the guard. But I^st the people 



HENHV VU. i59 

should take umbrage at this unusual symptom of jealousy 
in the prince, as if it implied a personal diffidence of his 
subjects, he declared the institution to be perpetual. Th6 
parhament assembled at Westminster, and proceeded to 
settle the entail of the crown. No mention was made of 
the princess Elizabeth : it was voted, " that the inheritance 
of the crown should rest, remain, and abide in the king ;" 
and " that the succession should be secured to the heirs 
of his body ;" but Henry pretended not, in case of their 
failure, to exclude the house of York, or give the prefer- 
ence to that of Lancaster. 

The parliament had petitioned to the king to espouse 
the princess Elizabeth, under the pretence of their desire 
to have heirs of his body ; and he now thought in earnest 
of satisfying the minds of his people m that particular. 
His marriage was celebrated at Lohdon, and that with 
greater appearance of universal joy than either his first 
entry or his coronation. Henry remarked with much dis-^ 
pleasure this general favour borne to the house of York. 
The suspicions which arose from it not only disturbed his 
tranquillity during his whole reign, but bred disgust to- 
wards his consort herself, and poisoned all his domestic 
enjoyments. Though virtuous, amiable, and obsequious 
to the last degree, she never met with a proper return of 
affection, or even of complaisance, from her husband ; 
and the malignant ideas of faction stili, in his sullen mind, 
prevailed over all the sentiments of conjugal endearment* 

The king now resolved to make a progress into the 
north, where the friends of the house of York, and even 
the partisans of Richard, were numerous, in hopes of 
curing by his presence and conversation, the prejudices of 
the malcontents. When he arrived at Nottingham, he 
heard that viscount Level, with sir Humphrey Stafford^ 
and Thomas, his brother, had secretly withdrawn them- 
selves from their sanctuary at Colchester ; but this news 
appeared not to him of such importance as to stop his jour- 
ney ; and he proceeded forward to York. He there heard 
that the Staffords had levied an army, and were marching 
to besiege the city of Worcester ; and that Lovel, at 
the head of three or four thousand men, was approach- 
ing to attack him in York. Henry was not dismayed witli 
this intelligence. His active courage, full of resources,^ 



160 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

immediately prompted him to find the propel" remedy. 
Though surrounded with enemies in these disaiFecVed 
counties, he assembled a small body of troops in whom he 
could confide ; and having joined to them all his own at« 
tendants, he put them under the command of the duke of 
Bedford, who published a general promise of pardon to 
the rebels. This had a greater effect on their leader 
than on his followers. Lovel, who had undertaken an en- 
terprise that exceeded his courage and capacity, was so 
terrified with the fear of desertion among his troops, that 
he suddenly withdrew himself, and after lurking some time 
in Lancashire, he made his escape into Flanders, where he 
was protected by the duchess of Burgundy. His army 
submitted to the king's clemency ; and the other rebels, 
hearing of this success, raised the siege of Worcester, and 
dispersed themselves. The StafFords took sanctuary in 
the church of Colnham, near Abingdon ; but being taken 
thence, the elder was executed at Tyburn, and the young- 
er obtained a pardon. 

Henry's joy for this success wa& followed, some time 
after, by the birth of a prince, to whom he gave the name 
of Arthur, in memory of the famous British king of that 
name, from whom it was pretended the family of Tudor 
derived its descent. But his government had become in 
general unpopular ; and the source of public discontent 
arose chiefly from his prejudices against the house of 
York. 

There lived in Oxford one Richard Simon, a priest of a 
subtle and enterprising genius. This man had entertained 
the design of disturbing Henry's government, by 
148fi raising a pretender to his crown ; and for that pur- 
* pose he cast his eyes on Lambert Simnel, a youth 
of fifteen years of age, the son of a baker, who was en» 
dowed with understanding above his years, and address 
above his condition. Him, Simon instructed to personate 
the earl of Warwick, son of the duke of Clarence, who 
had been confined in the Tower since the commencement 
of this reign ; and the queen-dowager, finding herself fab 
len into absolute insignificance, and her daughter treated 
with severity, was suspected of countenancing the impos- 
ture. 

In Ireland the scene of it first was opened. No sooneif 




HENRY VII. fSl 

did Simncl present himself to Kildare, the deputy, and 
claim his protection as the unfortunate Warwick, than 
that credulous nobleman acknowledged him ; the people 
of Dublin tendered their allegiance to him, as to the true 
Plantagenet ; and the whole island followed the example 
of the capital. 

Henry, perplexed by the news of this revolt, first seized 
the queen-dowager, whom he confined in the nunnery of 
Bermondsey, where she ended her life in poverty and soli- 
tude. He next exposed Warwick through the streets of 
London ; but though this measure had its effect in Eng- 
land, the people of Ireland retorted on the king the re- 
proach of having shown a counterfeit personage. 

Henry had soon reason to apprehend that the design 
against him was not laid on slight foundations. John 
©arl of Lincoln, son of the duke of Suffolk, and of Eliza- 
beth, eldest sister of Edward IV., was engaged to take 
part in the conspiracy ; and having established a secret 
correspondence in Lancashire, he retired to Flanders, 
where Lovel had arrived a little before him ; and he lived 
in the court of his aunt the duchess of Burgundy. 

That Princess, the widow of Charles the Bold, after 
consulting with Lincoln and Lovel, hired a body of two 
thousand veteran Germans, under the command of Martin 
Swart, a brave and experienced officer ; and sent them 
over, together with these two noblemen, to join Simnel in 
Ireland. The countenance given by persons of such high 
rank, and the accession of this military force, much raised 
the courage of the Irish, and made them entertain the re* 
solution of invading England, as well from the hopes of 
plunder as of revenge. 

Being informed that Simnel was landed at Foudrey in 
Lancashire, Henry drew together his forces, and advanced 
towards the enemy as far as Coventry. The rebels had 
entertained hopes that the disaffected counties in the north 
would rise in their favour ; but the people in general, 
averse to join Irish and German invaders, convinced of 
Lambert's imposture, and kept in awe, by the king's repu- 
tation for success and conduct, either remained in tran* 
quillity, or gave assistance to the royal army. The hostile 
armies met at Stoke in the county of Nottingham, and 
fought a battle which was bloody and obstinately dis« 



'l$2 IJISTORY OP fiNGIANP. 

|>uted. The king's victory was purchased with loss, bu| 
was entirely decisive. Lincoln, Broughton, and Swart, 
perished in the field of battle, with four thousand of 
lift ft their followers ; and as Level was never more heard 
* of he was believed to have undergone the same 
fate,* Simnel, with his tutor Simon, was taken prisoner, 
Simon, being a priest, was only committed to close cus- 
tody ; and Simnel being too contemptible to be an object 
either of apprehension or resentment, was pardoned, and 
made a scullion in the king's kitchen ; whence he was af- 
terwards advanced to the rank of a falconer. 

The duchess of Burgundy, full of resentment for the 
pppression of her family, and rather irritated than discou- 
raged by the ill success of her past enterprise, propagated 
9 report that her nephew, Richard Plantagenet, duke of 
York, had escaped from the Tower, and was still alive ; 
und finding this rumour greedily received by the people^ 
she sought for some young man proper to personate that 
t^lnfortunate prince. 

Warbeck, a renegade Jew of Tournay, who had visited 
liOndon in the reign of Edward IV., had there a son born 
to him. Having had opportunities of being known to the 
king, and obtaining his favour, he prevailed with that 
prince, whose manners were very affable, to stand god- 
father to his son, to whom he gave the name of Peter, 
corrupted, after the Flemish manner, into Peterkin, or 
Perkin. It was by some believed that Edward, among his 
amorous adventures, had a secret commerce with War- 
beck's wife ; and people thence accounted for that re^ 
semblance which was afterwards remarked between young 

* Doctor Mavor, in his HisxoRif of England, gives the fol- 
lowing probable account of the death of this distinguished noble- 
man, on the authority of the late Mr. Thomas Warton, who re- 
ceived his information, as well as could be recollected, from Dr. 
Dennison, a witness of what is related : — " The walls of this no- 
bleman's once magnificent seat at Minster Lovel, Oxfordshire, 
of which some ruins still remain, being pulled down for the sake 
of the materials, early in the last century, a secret chamber was 
discovered wiih a trap-door, and in it a skeleton of a person in 
complete armour was found. From hence it was supposed, and 
on probable grounds, that this was the body of lord Lovel, who, 
after escaping from the battle of Stoke, took refuge in this place, 
and from some cause, not now to be accounted for, was left to 
perish in his concealment," 



HENRV VII. 163 

Fcrkin and that monarch. Some years after the birth of 
this child, Warbeck returned to Tournay, whence Perkin 
his son, by different accidf^nts, was carried from place to 
place, and his birth and fortunes became thereby unknown, 
and difficult to be traced. The variety of his adventures 
had happily favoured the natural versatility and sagacity 
of his genius ; and he seemed to be a youth perfectly fitted 
to act any part, or assume any character. In this light he 
had been represented to the duchess of Burgundy, who 
found him to exceed her most sanguine expectations ; so 
comely did he appear in his person, so graceful in his air, 
so courtly in his address, so full of docility and good sense 
in his behaviour and conversation. The lessons necessa- 
ry to be taught him, in order to his personating the duke 
of York, were soon learned by a youth of such quick appre- 
hension ; and Margaret, in order the better to conceal him, 
sent him, under the care of lady Brampton, into Portugal, 
where he remained a year, unknown to all the world. 

The war, which was then ready to break out between 
France and England, seemed to afford a proper opportu- 
nity for this impostor to try his success ;] and Ireland, 
which still retained its attachment to the house of York, 
was chosen as the proper place for his first appearance. 
He landed at Cork ; and immediately assuming the name 
of Richard Plantagenet, drew to him partisans among that 
credulous people. The news soon reached France ; and 
Charles, prompted by the secret solicitations of the duchess 
of Burgundy, sent Perkin an invitation to repair to him at 
Paris. He received him with all the marks of regard due 

o 

to the duke of York. The French courtiers readily em- 
braced a fiction which their sovereign thought it his inter- 
est to adopt ; and Perkin, both by his deportment and 
personal qualities, supported the prepossession which was 
spread abroad of his royal pedigree. From France the 
admiration and credulity diffused themselves into England : 
sir George Nevil, sir John Taylor, and above a hundred 
gentlemen more, came to Paris, in order to offer their ser- 
vices to the supposed duke of York, and to share his for- 
tunes ; and the impostor had now the appearance of a 
court attending him, and began to entertain hopes of final 
success. 

15 



1^4 mSTdllV OV EifGLAND. 

When peace was concluded between France and Eng- 
land, Charles consented to dismiss Perkin, who retired to 
the duchess of Burgundy. That princess put on the ap- 
pearance of distrust ; and it was not till after a long and 
severe scrutiny, that she pretended to burst out into joy 
and admiration, and embraced Perkin as the true image of 
Edward, and the sole heir of the Plantagenets. 
149S ^^^ ^^® populace alone of England gave credit to 
Perkin' s pretensions ; men of the highest birth and 
quality turned their eyes towards the new claimant ; and 
sir Robert Clifford and William Barley made him a tender 
of their services. 

The king, informed of these particulars, proceeded deli- 
berately, though steadily, in counter-working the projects 
of his enemies. His first object was to ascertain the death 
of the real duke of York, and to confirm the opinion that 
had always prevailed with regard to that catastrophe ; but 
as only two of the persons employed by Richard, in the 
murder of his nephews, were now alive, and as the bodies 
were supposed to have been removed by Richard's orders, 
from the place where they were first interred, and could 
not now be found, it was not in Henry's povver to establish 
the fact beyond all doubt and controversy. He was, how- 
ever, more successful in detecting who this wonderful per- 
son was, who thus advanced pretensions to his crown. He 
engaged Clifford, by the hope of rewards and pardon, to 
betray the secrets entrusted to him ; and such was the dili- 
gence sf his spies, that in the issue the whole plan of the 
conspiracy was clearly laid before him, with the pedigree, 
adventures, life, and conversation, of the pretended duke 
of York ; and this latter part of the story was immediate- 
ly published for the satisfaction of the nation. 

Several of the conspirators were immediately arrested. 
Some of inferior rank were rapidly arraigned, convicted, 
and condemned for high treason ; but more solemnity was 
deemed necessary in the trial of sir William Stanley, one 
of the most opulent subjects in the kingdom. After six 
weeks' delay, which was interposed to show that the king 
was restrained by doubts and scruples, the prisoner was 
brought to his trial, condemned, and presently after be- 
headed. Historians, however, are not agreed as to the* 
precise nature of the crime for which he suffered. 



HENRY VII. 1€5 

The fate of Stanley struck the adherents of Perkin with 
the greatest dismay ; and as the impostor found that his 
pretensions were becoming obsolete, he resolved to attempt 
something which might revive the hopes and expectations 
of his parlisans. Having collected a band of outlaws, 
pirates, robbers, and necessitous persons of all nations, 
to the number of six hundred men, he put to sea, with a 
resolution of making a descent in England. Information 
being brought him that the king had made a progress to 
the north, he cast anchor on the coast of Kent, and sent 
some of his retainers ashore, who invited the country to 
join him. The gentlemen of Kent assembled some troops 
to oppose him ; but they purposed to do more essential 
service than by repelling the invasion ; they carried the 
semblance of friendship to Perkin, and invited him to 
come himself ashore, in order to take the command over 
them. But the wary youth, observing that they had more 
order and regularity in their movements than could be 
supposed in new-levied forces who had taken arms against 
the established authority, refused to entrust himself into 
their hands ; and the Kentish troops, despairing of suc- 
cess in their stratagem, fell upon such of his retainers as 
were already landed ; and killinsf some, they took a hun- 
dred and fifty prisoners, who were tried and condemned, 
and executed by orders from the king. 

This year a parliament was summoned in England, and 
another in Ireland ; and some remarkable laws 
v/ere passed in both countries. The English pap* ^'aq^ 
liament passed an act, empowering the king to '^^^ 
levy, by course of law, all the sums which any person had 
agreed to pay by way of benevolence ; a statute by which 
that arbitrary method of taxation was indirectly authorized 
and justified. 

The king's authority appeared equally prevalent and 
uncontrolled in Ireland. Sir Edward Poynings, who had 
been sent over to that country, with an intention of quel- 
ling the partisans of the house of York, and of reducing 
the natives to subjection, summoned a parliament at Dub- 
lin, and obtained the^assincj of that memorable statute, 
which still bears his name, and which, during three centu- 
ries, established the paramount authority of the English 
government in Ireland. By tliis statute all the former 



160 HISTORV OF ENGLANB. 

kws of England were made to be in force in Ireland ; and 
no bill could be introduced into the Irish parliament, un- 
less it had previously received the sanction of the council 
of England.* 

After being repulsed from the coast of Kent, Perkin 
retired to Ireland ; but tirfed of the wandering life he was 
compelled to lead in that country, he passed over into 
Scotland, where he was favourably received by James IV. 
who gave him in marriage the lady Catharine Gordon, 
daughter of the earl of Huntley. The jealousy which 
subsisted between England and Scotland, induced James 
to espouse the cause of the impostor, and to make an in- 
road into England ; but Perkin's pretensions were now 
become stale even in the eyes of the populace ; and James 
perceiving that, while Perkin remained in Scotland, he 
should never enjoy a solid peace with Henry, privately 
desired him to depart. 

After quitting Scotland, Perkin concealed himself in 
the wilds and fastnesses of Ireland. Impatient, however^ 
of a retreat which was both disagreeable and dangerous^ 
he held consultations with his followers. Heme, Skelton^ 
and Astley, three broken tradesmen ; and by their advice, 
he resolved to try the affections of the Cornish, whose 
mutinous disposition had been lately manifested, in resist- 
ing the levy of a tax imposed for the purpose of repelling 
the inroad of the Scots. No sooner did he appear at 
Bodmin, in Cornwall, than the populace, to the number of 
three thousand, flocked to his standard ; and Perkin, ela- 
ted with this appearance of success^ took on him, for the 
first time, the appellation of Richard the Fourth, king of 
England. Not to suffer the expectations of his followers 
to languish, he presented himself before Exeter ; and find- 
ing that the inhabitants shut their ga^es against him, he 
laid siege to the place ; but being unprovided with artil- 
lery, ammunition, and every thing requisite for the at- 
tempt, he made no progress in his undertaking. 

When Henry was informed that Perkin had landed in 
England, he expressed great joy at his being so near, and 

*By the act ot union between Great Britain and Ireland,, 
these regulations which had long been the object of jealousy 
^Bd contention, were happily rendered obsolete. 



h£nry VII. 167 

)»ifepared himself with alacrity lo attack him. The lords 
Daubeny and Broke, with sir Rice ap Thomas, hastened 
forward with a small body of troops to the relief of Exe- 
ter, and the king himself prepared to follow with a con- 
siderable army. 

Perkin, informed of these great preparations, immedi- 
ately raised the siege of Exeter, and retired to Taunton. 
Though his followers seemed still resolute to maintain his 
cause, he himself despaired of success, and secretly with- 
drew to the sanctuary of Beaulieu in the new forests. The 
Cornish rebels submitted to the king's mercy. Except a 
few persons of desperate fortunes who were executed, and 
some others who were severely fined, all the rest were dis- 
missed with impunity. Lady Catharine Gordon, wife to 
Perkin, fell into the hands of the victor, and was treated 
with a generosity which does him honour. He soothed 
her mind with many marks of regard, placed her in a re- 
putable station about the queen, and assigned her a pen- 
r^ion, which she enjoyed even under his successor. 

Perkin being persuaded, under promise of pardon, to 
deliver himself into the king's hands, was con- 
ducted, in a species of mock triumph, to London. ^\qo 
His confession of his life and adventures was pub- 
lished ; but though his life was granted him, he was still 
detained in custody, impatient of confinement, he broke 
from his keepers, and fled to the sanctuary of Shyne. He 
was then imprisoned in the Tower, where his habits of 
restless intrigue and enterprise followed him. He insi- 
nuated himself into the intimacy of four servants of sir 
.fohnDigby, lieutenant of the Tower ; and, by their means, 
opened a correspondence with the earl of Warwick, who 
was confined in the same prison. This unfortunate prince, 
who had, from his earliest youth, been shut up from the 
commerce of men, and who was ignorant even of the 
most common aflfairs of life, had fallen into a fatuity, 
which made him susceptible of any impression. The con- 
tinued dread also of the more violent effects of Henry's 
tyranny, joined to the natural love of hberty, engaged him 
to embrace a project for his escape, by the murder of the 
lieutenant ; and Perkin offered to conduct the whole enter- 
prise. The conspiracy escaped not the king's vigilance. 
Perkin, by this new attempt, had rendered himself totallT 

15* 



IQS HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

unworthy of mercy : and he was accordingly arraigned, 
condemned, and soon after hanged at Tyburn, acknow- 
ledging his imposture to the last. 

It happened about that very time that one Wilford, a 
cordwainer's son, encouraged by the surprising credit 
given to other impostures, had undertaken to personate 
the earl of Warwick ; and a priest had even ventured from 
the pulpit to recommend his cause to the people. This 
incident served Henry as a pretence for his severity to- 
wards that prince. He was brought to trial, and accused 
of forming designs to disturb the government, and raise an 
insurrection among fhe people. Warwick confessed the 
indictment, was condemned, and the sentence was execu- 
ted upon him. This act of tyarnny, the capital blemish of 
Henry's reign, occasioned great discontent ; and though 
he endeavoured to alleviate the odium of this guilt, by 
sharing it with his ally, Ferdinand of Arragon, who, he 
said, had scrupled to give his duughter Catherine in mar- 
riage to Authur, while any male descendant of the house 
of York remained ; this only increased the indignation of 
the people, at seeing a young prince sacrificed to the jeal- 
ous politics of two subtle tyrants. 

There was a remarkable similarity of character between 
these two monarchs : both were full of craft, intrigue, and 
design ; and though a resemblance of this nature be a 
slender foundation for confidence and amity, such was the 
situation of Henry and Ferdinand, that no jealousy ever 
arose between them. The king completed a marriage, 
which had been projected and negotiated during the course 
of seven years, between Arthur prince of Wales, and the 
infanta Catherine, fourth daughter of Ferdinand and Isa- 
bella ; but this marriage proved in the issue unprosperous. 
The young prince a few months after sickened and died, 
much regretted by the nation. Henry, desirous to contin- 
ue his alliance with Spain, and also unwilling to restore 
Catherine's dowry, which was two hundred thousand du- 
cats, obliged his second son Henry, whom he created 
prince of Wales, to be contracted to the infanta, by virtue 
of a dispensation from the people. This marriage was, in 
the event, attended with the most important consequences. 
In the same year, another marriage was celebrated, which 
was also in the next age productive of great events ; i\m 



HENay vir. 16^ 

marriage of Margaret, the king's eldest daughter, with 
James king of Scotland. Amidst these prosperous inci- 
dents the queen died in child-bed ; and the infant did not 
long survive her. This princess was deservedly a favou- 
rite of the nation ; and the general affection for her was 
augmented by the harsh treatment which it was thought 
6he experienced from her consort. 

Uncontrolled by apprehension or opposition of any 
kind, Henry now gave full scope to his natural pro- 
pensity ; and his avarice, which had ever been the ^ * ^ 
ruhng passion of his mind, broke through all re- 
straints. He had found two ministers, Empson and Dud- 
ley, perfectly qualified to second his rapacious and tyran- 
nical inclinations. These instruments of oppression were 
both lawyers. By their knowledge in law these men were 
qualified to pervert the forms of justice to the oppression 
of the innocent ; and the formidable authority of the king 
supported them in all their iniquities. In vain did the 
people look for protection from the parliament ; that as- 
sembly was so overawed, that during the greatest rage of 
Henry's oppressions, the commons chose Dudley their 
speaker, and granted him the subsidies which he demand- 
ed. By the arts of accumulation, this monarch so filled 
his coffers, that he is said to have possessed at one time 
the sum of one million eight hundred thousand pounds ; a 
treasure almost incredible, if we consider the scarcity of 
money in those times. 

The decline of his health induced the king to turn his 
thoughts towards that future existence, which the iniqui- 
ties and severities of his reign rendered a very dismal pros- 
pect to him. To allay the terrors under which he labour- 
ed, he endeavoured, by distributing alms, and founding 
religious houses, to make atonement for his crimes, and to 
purchase by the sacrifice of part of his ill-gotten treasures, 
a reconciliation. with his offended Maker. Remorse even 
seized him, at intervals, for the abuse of his authority by 
Empson and Dudley ; but not sufficiently to make him 
stop the rapacious hand of those oppressors. Hovever, 
death, by its nearer approaches, impressed new terrors 
upon him ; and he then ordered, by a general clause in 
his wUl, that restitution should be made to all those whom 



no HISTORY OP ENGLAND, 

he had injured. He died of a consumption, at his 
\\m fe^vouiite palace of Richmond, after a reign of 
' twenty-three years and eight months, and in the 
fifty second year of his age. 

The reign of Henry the Seventh was, on the whole, for- 
tunate for his people at home, and honourable abroad* 
He loved peace without fearing war ; and this acquired 
him the regard and consideration of foreign princes. His 
capacity was excellent, though somewhat contracted by 
the narrowness of his heart. Avarice was his ruling pas- 
sion ; and to gratify it, he sacrificed every honourable 
principle. 

This prince, though he exalted his prerogative above 
law, is celebrated for many good laws which he establish- 
ed for the government of his subjects ; but the most im- 
portant law in its consequences which was enacted during 
the reign of Henry, was that by which the nobility and 
gentry acquired a power of breaking the ancient entails, 
and of alienating their estates. By means of this law, 
joined to the beginning luxury and refinement of the age, 
the great fortunes of the barons were gradually dissipated, 
and the property of the commons increased in England. 
It is probable that Henry foresaw and intended this con- 
sequence ; because the constant scheme of his policy con- 
sisted in depressing the great, and exalting churchmen, 
lawyers and men of new families, who would be more ob- 
sequious. 

It was during this reign, that Christopher Columbus 
discovered America ; and Vasquez de Gama passed the 
Cape of Good Hope, and opened a new passage to the 
East Indies. It was by accident only that Henry had not 
a considerable share in those great naval discoveries. 
However, he fitted out Sebastian Cabot, a Venetian, set- 
tled in Bristol ; and sent him westward, in 1498, in search 
of new countries. Cabot discovered the main land of 
America, towards the sixtieth degree of northern latitude, 
Newfoundland, and many other countries ; but returned to 
England without making any conquest or settlement, 
Elliot, and other merchants in Bristol, made like at- 
tempt in 1502. The king expended fourteen thousand 
pounds in building one ship, called the " Great Harry ;" 



HENRY VIIL 17 i 

which was, properly speaking, the first ship in the Eng- 
lish navy. In 1453, Constantinople was taken by the 
Turks ; and the Greeks, among whom some remains of 
learning were still preserved, being scattered by these bar- 
barians, took shelter in Italy, and imported, together with 
their admirable language, a tincture of their science, and 
of their refined taste in poetry and eloquence. About the 
same time, the purity of the Latin was revived ; and the 
art of printing, invented about that time, extremely facili- 
tated the progress of all these improvements. The in- 
vention of gunpowder changed the whole art of war ; and 
mighty innovations were soon after made in religion. Thus 
a general revolution w^as produced in human affairs 
throughout this part of the world ; and men gradually en- 
tered on that career of commerce, arts, science, govern- 
ment, and police, in which, with the exception of some 
pauses, they have ever since been persevering. 



CHAP. X. 

The Reign of Henry Fill. 

The accession of Henry the Eighth spread universal 
joy and satisfaction. Instead of a monarch jealous, severe, 
and avaracious, a young prince of eighteen had sue- ^ ^ 
ceeded to the throne, who, even in the eyes of men ^^qq 
of sense, gave promising hopes of his future con- 
duct, much more in those of the people, always enchanted 
with novelty, youth, and royal dignity. Hitherto he had 
been occupied entirely in manly exercises and the pur- 
suits of hterature ; and the proficiency which he made in 
each, gave no bad prognostic of his parts and capacity. 
Even the vices of vehemence, ardour, and impatience, to 
which he was subject, and which afterwards degenerated 
into tyranny, were considered only as faults of unguarded 
youth, which would be corrected by time. 

The chief competitors for favour were the earl of Sur- 
rey and Fox bishop of Winchester. The former was a 
dexterous courtier, and promoted that taste for pleasure 
and magnificence, which began to prevail under the young 
monarch. The vast treasures amassed by the late king, 
were gradually dissipated in the giddy expenses of Henry ,; 



172 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

or if he intermitted the course of his festivity, he chiefly 
employed himself in an application to music and literature^ 
which were his favourite pursuits, and which were well 
adapted to his genius. And though he was so unfortunate 
as to be seduced into a study of the barren controversies 
of the schools, which were then fashionable, and had 
chosen Thomas Aquinas for his favourite author, he still 
discovered a capacity for more useful and interesting ac*- 
quirements. 

Empson and Dudley were sent to the Tower, and soon 
after brought to trial ; and their execution was less an act 
of justice, than for the purpose of gratifying the people.. 
Henry, however, while he punished the instruments of 
past tyranny, paid such deference to former engagements., 
as to celebrate his marriage with the infanta Catherine, 
though her former marriage with his brother was urged by 
the primate as an important objection. 

At this time, when the situation of the several powerful 
states of Europe promised, by balancing each other, g. 
long tranquillity, the flames of war were kindled by Julius 
II. an ambitious and enterprising pontiff, who determined 
to expel all foreigners from Italy, and drew over Ferdi- 
nand to his party. He solicited the favour of England, by 
sending Henry a sacred rose, perfumed with musk, and 
anointed with chrism ; and he also gave him hopes, that 
the title of " Most Christian King," which had hitherto 
been annexed to the crown of France, should, in reward 
of his services, be transferred to that of England. Im- 
patient also of acquiring distinction in Europe, Henry join- 
ed the alliance, which the pope, in conjunction with Spain 
and Venice, had formed against the French monarch. 

Henry's intended invasion of France roused the jeal- 
ousy of the Scottish nation. The ancient league, which 
subsisted between France and Scotland, was conceived t© 
be the strongest band of connexion ; and the Scots univer- 
sally believed, that were it not for tlie countenance which 
they received from this foreign alliance, they had never 
been able so long to maintain their independence against a 
people so much superior. James was farther incited to 
take part in the quarrel by the invitations of Anne queen of 
France, whose knight he had ever in all tournaments pro- 
fessed himself, and who summoned him, according to thQ 



HENRY VTII. 173 

ideas of romantic gallantry, prevalent in that age, to take 
the field in her defence, and to prove himself her true and 
valorous champion. lie first sent a squadron of ships to 
the assistance of France, the only fleet which Scotland 
seems ever to have possessed ; and though he still made 
professions of maintaining a neutrality, the Enghsh am- 
bassador easily foresaw, that a war would in the end prove 
inevitable, and gave warning of the danger to his master. 

Henry, ardent for military fame, was little discouraged by 
this appearance of a diversion from the north. He had now 
got a minister who flattered him in every scheme to which 
his impetuous temper inclined. Thomas Wolsey, dean of 
Lincoln, and almoner to the king, surpassed in favour all 
his ministers, and was fast advancing towards that unri- 
valled grandeur which he afterwards attained. This man 
was son of a butcher at Ipswich ; but having got a learned 
education, and being endowed with an excellent capacity, 
he was admitted into the marquis of Dorset's family as 
tutor to that nobleman's children, and soon gained the 
favour and countenance of his patron. He was recom- 
mended to be chaplain to Henry VTI. ; and being employ- 
ed by that monarch in a secret negotiation, he acquitted 
himself to the king's satisfaction, and was considered at 
court as a rising man. The death of Henry retarded his 
advancement ; but Fox bishop of Winchester cast his eye 
upon him, as one who might be serviceable to him in his 
present situation. This prelate, observing that the earl of 
Surrey had totally eclipsed him in favour, resolved to in- 
troduce Wolsey to the young prince's familiarity, and 
hoped that he might rival Surrey in his insinuating arts, 
and yet be content to act in the cabinet a part subordinate 
to Fox himself, who had promoted him. In a little time 
Wolsey gained so much on the king, that he supplanted 
both Surrey in his favour, and Fox in his trust and confi- 
dence. Being admitted to Henry's parties of pleasure, he 
took the lead in every jovial conversation, and promoted 
all that frolic and entertainment which he found suitable to 
the age and inclination of the young monarch. Neither 
kis own years., which were near forty, nor his character of 
a clergyman, were any restraint upon him, or engaged him 
to check, by any useless severity, the gayety in which 
Henry passed his careless hours. 



174 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

The king soon advanced his favourite, from being the 
companion of his pleasures, to be a member of his council ; 
and from being a member of his council, to be his sole and 
absolute minister. By this rapid advancement and un- 
controlled authority, the character and genius of Wolsey 
had full opportunity to display themselves. Insatiable in 
his acquisitions, but still more magnificent in his expense ; 
of extensive capacity, but still more unbounded enterprise ; 
ambitious of power, but still more desirous of glory ; in- 
sinuating, engaging, persuasive ; and, by turns, lofty, ele- 
vated, commanding ; haughty to his equals, but affable to 
his dependants ; oppressive to the people, but liberal to 
his friends ; more generous than grateful ; less moved by 
injuries than by contempt ; he was framed to take the as* 
eendant in every intercourse with others, but exerted this 
superiority of nature with such ostentation as exposed him 
to envy, and made every one willing to recall the original 
inferiority of his condition. 

A considerable force having sailed over to Calais, Hen- 
ry prepared to follow with the main body and rear of the 
army ; and he appointed the queen regent of the kingdom 
during his absence. He was accompanied by the duke of 
Buckingham, and many others of the nobility ; but of the 
allies, on whose assistance he relied, the Swiss alone per- 
formed their engagements, and invaded France. The em- 
peror Maximilian, instead of re-enforcing the Swiss with 
eight thousand men, as he had promised, joined the Eng- 
lish army with a few German and Flemish soldiers ; and 
observing the disposition of the English monarch to be 
more bent on glory than on interest, he enlisted himself 
into his service, and received one hundred crowns a-day, 
as one of his subjects and captains, though, in reality, he 
directed all the operations of the English army. 

Terouane, a town situated on the frontiers of Picardy, 
was reduced to the last extremity from want of provisions 
and ammunition, when eight hundred horsemen, each of 
■whom carried a sack of gunpowder behind him, and two 
quarters of bacon, made a sudden irruption into the Eng- 
lish camp, deposited their burden in the town, and again 
broke through the English without suffering any loss in 
this dangerous enterprise. But the English had, soon 
after, full revenge for the insult. Henry had received in*- 



HENRY VIII. 175 

telligence of the approach of the French horse, who had 
advanced to protect another incursion of Fontrailles ; and 
he ordered some troops to pass the Lis, for the purpose of 
opposing him. The cavalry of France, though they con- 
sisted chiefly of gentlemen who had behaved with great 
gallantry in many desperate actions in Italy, were, on 
sight of the enemy, seized vvith so unaccountable a panic, 
that they immediately took to flight, and were pursued by 
the EngUsh. The duke of Longueville, who commanded 
the French, and many other ofiicers of distinction, were 
made prisoners. This action, or rather rout, is sometimes 
called the battle of Guinegate, from the place where it was 
fought ; but more commonly the " Battle of Spurs," be- 
cause the French, that day, made more use of their spurs, 
than of their swords or military weapons. 

After the capture of Terouane and Tournay, the king 
returned to England, and carried with him the greater 
part of his army. Success had attended him in every en- 
terprise ; but all men of judgment were convinced that 
this campaign was, in reality, both ruinous and inglorious 
to him. 

The success which attended Henry's arms in the north, 
was much more decisive. The king of Scotland had 
assembled the whole force of his kingdom ; and after 
passing the Tweed with an army of fifty thousand men, he 
ravaged the parts of Northumberland nearest to that river, 
and employed himself in taking several castles of small 
importance. The earl of Surrey, having collected a force 
of twenty-six thousand men, marched to the defence of 
the country, and approached the Scots., who had encamped 
on some high ground near the hills of Cheviot. Surrey 
feigned a march towards Berwick ; and the Scottish army 
having decended the hill, an engagement became inevi- 
table. A furious action commenced, and was continued 
till night separated the combatants. The victory seemed 
3^et undecided, and the numbers that fell on each side were 
nearly equal, amounting to above five thousand men ; but 
the morning discovered where the advantage lay. The 
English had lost only persons of small note ; but the Scot« 
tish nobility had fallen in battle, and their king himself, 
after the most diligent inquiry, could no where be found. 

16 



176' mSTORV OF ENGLAND. 

The king of Scotland, and most of his chief nobles, being 
slain in the field of Foiiden, an inviting opportunity was 
offered to Henry of reducing that kingdom to subjection ; 
but he discovered on this occasion a mind truly great and 
generous. When the queen of Scotland, Margaret, who 
was created regent during the infancy of her son, applied 
for peace, he readily granted it ; and compassionated the 
helpless condition of his sister and nephew. The earl 
of Surrey, who had gained him so great a victory, was re- 
stored to the title of duke of Norfolk, which had been for- 
feited by his father for engaging on the side of Richard the 
Third ; and Wolsey, who was both his favourite and his 
minister, was created bishop of Lincoln. 

Peace with Scotland enabled Henry to prosecute his 
enterprise against France, yet several incidents 
^ ' * opened his eyes to the rashness of the undertaking ; 
* and the duke of Longueville, who had been made 
prisoner at the battle of Guinegate, was ready to take ad- 
vantage of this disposition. He represented, that as 
Lewis was a widower without male children, no marriage 
could be more suitable to him than that with the princess 
Mary, the sister of Henry. The king seemed to hearken 
to this discourse with willing ears ; and Longueville 
received full powers from his master for negotiating the 
treaty. The articles were easily adjusted between the 
monarchs. 

The espousals of Mary and Lewis were soon after cele- 
brated at Abbeville ; but the monarch was seduced into 
a course of gayety and pleasure, veiy unsuitable to the 
declining state of his health, and died in less than 
- * ' three months after the marriage. He was suc- 
ceeded by Francis, duke of Angouleme, who had 
married the eldest daughter of Lewis. 

The numerous enemies whom Wolsey's sudden elevation 
and haughty deportment had raised him, served only to 
rivet him faster in Henry's confidence. He preferred him 
to the archbishopric of York, and allowed him to unite 
with it the sees of Durham and of W^inchester ; while the 
pope, observing his great influence over the king, and de- 
sirous of engaging him in his interests, created him a car- 
dinal. His train consisted of eisjht hundred servants, of 



HENRY vm. 177 

whom many were knights and gentlemen. Whoever was 
distinguished by any art or science, paid court to the car- 
dinal ; and none paid court in vain. Literature, which 
was then in its infancy, found in him a generous patron ; 
and both by his publi ^ institutions and private bounty, he 
gave encouragement to every branch of erudition. Not 
content, however, with this munificence, which gained him 
the approbation of the wise, he strove to dazzle the eyes 
of the populace, by the splendour of his equipage and 
furniture, the costly embroidery of his liveries, and the 
richness of his apparel. 

Warham, chancellor and archbishop of Canterbury, a 
man of a moderate temper, and averse to all disputes, 
chose rather to retire from public employment, than main- 
tain an unequal contest with the haughty cardinal. He 
resigned his office of chancellor ; and the great seal was 
immediately deHvered to VVolsey. If this new accumula- 
tion of dignity increased his enemies, it also served to 
exalt his personal. character, and prove the extent of his 
capacity. A strict administration of justice took place 
during the time he filled this high office ; and no chancel- 
lor ever discovered greater impartiality in his decisions, 
deeper penetration of judgment, or more enlarged know- 
ledge of law and equity. 

The title of legate, which was afterwards conferred on 
Wolsey, brought with it a great accession of power and 
dignity. He erected an office, which he called the lega- 
tine court, and on which he conferred a kind of inquisito- 
rial and censorial power, even over the laity ; and directed 
it to inquire into all actions, which, though they escaped 
the law, might appear contrary to good morals. The 
abuse, however, of this court, at length reached the king's 
ears ; and he expressed such displeasure at the cardinal, 
as made him ever after more cautious in exerting his au- 
thority. 

While Henry, indulged himself in pleasure and amuse- 
ment, intrusted the government of his kingdom 
to this imperious minister, an incident happened *'r-tq 
abroad, which ''excited his attention. Maximilian, 
the emperor, died ; a man who, of himself, was indeed of 
little consequence ; but as his death left vacant the first 
station among Christian princess, it set the passions of mw 



I7S HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

in agitation and proved a kind of era in the general sys- 
tem of Europe. The kings of France and Spain immedi- 
diataly declared themselves candidates for the hnperial 
crown, and employed every expedient of money or intrigue^ 
which promised them success in so great a point of ambi- 
tion. Henry also was encouraged to advance his preten- 
sions ; but his minister, Pace, who was despatched to the 
electors, found that he began to canvass too late. 

Francis and Charles professed from the beginning to 
carry on this rivalship without enmity ; but all men per- 
ceived that this moderation would not be of long duration : 
and when Charles at length prevailed, the French monarch 
could not suppress his indignation at being disappointed 
in so important a pretension. Both of them were princes 
©ndowed with talents and abilities ; brave, aspiring, active, 
warlike ; beloved by their servants and subjects, dreaded 
by their enemies, and respected by all the world : Francis, 
open, frank, liberal, munificent, carrying these virtues to an 
excess which prejudiced his affairs : Charles, political, 
close, artful, frugal ; better qualified to obtain success in 
wars and in negotiations, especially the latter. The one 
the more amiable man ; the other the greater monarch. 
Charles reaped the succession of Castile, of Arragon, of 
Austria, of the Netherlands : he inherited the conquest of 
Naples, of Grenada ; election entitled him to the empire ; 
even the bounds of the globe seemed to be enlarged a little 
before his time, that he might possess the whole treasure, 
as yet entire and unrifled, of the new world. But though 
the concurrence of all these advantages formed an empire, 
greater and more extensive than any known in Europe 
since that of the Romans, the kingdom of France alonCa 
being close, compact, united, rich, populous, and interpe- 
sed between the provinces of the emperor's dominions, 
was able to make a vigorous opposition to his progress, 
and maintain the contest against him. 

Henry possessed the facihty of being able, both by the 
native force of his kingdom and its situation, to hold the 
balance between those two powers ; but he was heedless, 
inconsiderate, capricious, andimpohtic. Francis, well ac- 
quainted with his character, solicited an interview near 
Calais, in hopes of being able, by familiar conversation, to 
gain upon his friendship and confidence. Wolsey earnestly 



HENRY VIII. 179 

Sfeconded this proposal ; and, as Henry himself loved show 
and magnificence, he cheerfully adjusted the preliminaries 
of the interview. The two monarchs met in a field within 
the English pale, between Guisnes and Andres ; 
and such was their profusion of expense, as pro- ^ * ^* 
cured to the place the name of the Field of the 
Cloth of Gold. 

A defiance had been sent by the two kings to each oth- 
er's court, and through all the chief cities of Europe, im- 
porting, that Henry and Francis, with fourteen aids, would 
be ready in the plains of Picardy, to answer all comers 
that were gentlemen, at tilt and tournament. The mon- 
archs, in order to fulfil this challenge, advanced into the 
field on horseback ; Francis, surrounded with Henry's 
guards, and Henry with those of Francis. They were 
gorgeously apparelled ; and were both of them the most 
comely personages of their age, as well as the most expert 
in every military exercise. They carried away the prize 
at all trials in those dangerous pastimes. The ladies 
were the judges in these feats of chivalry, and put an end 
to the rencounter whenever ihey deemed it expedient. 

Henry afterwards paid a visit to the emperor and Mar- 
garet of Savoy at Gravelines ; and the artful Charles ef- 
faced all the friendship to which the frank and generous 
nature of Francis had given birth. He secured Wolsey 
in his interests, by assuring him of his assistance in ob- 
taining the papacy, and by putting him in immediate pos- 
session of the revenues belonging to the sees of Badajox 
and Placentia. 

The violent emulation between the emperor and the 
French king soon broke out in hostilities. Henry, who 
pretended to be neutral, engaged them to send their am- 
bassadors to Calais, there to negotiate a peace under the 
mediation of Wolsey and the pope's nuncio. The emperor 
was well apprized of the partiality of these mediators ; 
and his demands in the conference were so unreasonable 
as plainly proved him conscious of the advantage. On 
Francis rejecting the terms proposed, the congress of 
Calais broke up, and Wolsey, soon after, took a journey 
to Bruges, where he met with the emperor. He was re- 
ceived with the same state, magnificence, and respect, as 
if he had been the king of England himself ; and he c©n- 

16* 



!80 HISTORV OF ENGLAND. 

eluded, in his master's name, an offensive alliance with the 
pope and the emperor, the result of the private views and 
ambitious projects of the cardinal. 

An event of the greatest importance engrossed at this 
time the attention of all Europe. Leo X., by his generous 
and enterprising temper, having exhausted his treasury, in 
order to support his liberalities, had recourse to the sale 
of indulgences. The produce of this revenue, particular- 
ly that which arose from Saxony and the countries border- 
ing on the Baltic, was farmed out to a merchant of Genoa. 
The scandal of this transaction, with the licentious lives^ 
which the collectors are reported to have led, roused Mar- 
tin Luther, a professor of the university of Wittemberg, 
who not only preached against these abuses in the sale of 
indulgences, but even decried indulgences themselves, and 
was thence carried, by the heat of dispute, to question the 
authority of the pope. Findmg his opinions greedily 
hearkened to, he promulgated them by writing and dis- 
course ; and in a short time, all Europe was filled with 
the voice of this daring innovator. 

As there subsisted in England great remains of the 
Lollards, the doctrines of Luther secretly gained many 
partisans ; but Heiiry had been educated in a strict attach- 
ment to the church of Rome, and therefore opposed the 
progress of the Lutheran tenets, by all the influence 
\Vhich his extensive and almost absolute authority confer- 
red upon him. He even wrote a book in Latin against 
the principles of Luther ; a performance which, if allow= 
ance be made for the subject and the age, does no dis- 
credit to his capacity. He sent a copy of it to Leo, who 
received so magnificent a present with great testimony of 
regard ; and conferred on him the title of " Defender of 
the Faith ;" an appellation still retained by the kings of 
England. 

Henry having declared war against France, Surrey 

landed some troops at Cherbourg in Normandy ; 
' * and after laying waste the country, he sailed to 

Morlaix, a rich town in Brittany, which he took 
and plundered. The war with France, however^ pro- 
ceeded slowly for want of money. Henry had caused ii 
general survey to be made of his kingdom, and had issued 
his privy seal to the most wealthy, demanding loans of 
particular sums : he soon after published an edict for a 



HENRV viir. 181 

general tax upon his subjects, which he still called a loan ; 
and he levied five shiUings in the pound upon the clergy, 
and two upon the laity. The parliament, which was sum- 
moned about this time, was far from complaining of these 
illegal transactions : but tho commons, more tenacious of 
their money than their national privileges, refused a grant 
of eight hundred thousand pounds, divided into four yearly 
payments ; a sum computed to be equal to four shillings 
in the pound of one year's revenue ; and they only voted 
an imposition of three shillings in the pound of all pos= 
sessed of fifty pounds a-year and upwards, of two shillings 
in the pound on all who enjoyed twenty pounds a-year and 
upwards, one sbillinii on all who possessed between twenty 
pounds and forty shiilings a-year, and on the other sub- 
jects above sixteen years of age, a groat a-head. The 
king was dissatisfied with this saving disposition of the 
commons ; and on pretence of necessity, he levied in one 
year, from all who were worth forty pounds, what the par- 
liament had gaanted him payable in four years. These 
irregularities were commonly ascribed to Wolsey's coun- 
sels, who, trusting to the protection afforded him by his 
ecclesiastical character, was the less scrupulous in his en- 
croachments on the civil rights of the nation. 

A new treaty was concluded between Henry and Charles 
for the invasion of France ; but the duke of Bour- 
bon, to whom Charles confided a powerful army, ' ^* 
in order to conquer Provence and Dauphiny, was 
obliged, after an in> ffectual attempt on xMarseilles, to lead 
his forces, weakened, baffled, and disheartened, into Italy. 
Francis might now have enjoyed, in safety, the glory of 
repulsing all his enemies ; but, ardent for the conquest of 
Milan, he passed the Alps, and laid siege to Pavia, a 
town of considerable strength, and defended by Leyva, 
one of the bravest officers in the Spanish service. Every 
attempt which the French king made to gain this 
important place proved fruitless. Fatigue and un- ' ^f/ 
favourable weather had wasted the French army, '^' 
when the imperial army, commanded by Pescara, Lannoy, 
and Bourbon, advanced to raise the siege. The imperial 
generals, after cannonading the French camp for several 
days, at last made a general assault, and broke into the 
intrenchments. Francis's forces were put to the rout, 



J 82 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

and himself, surrounded by his enemies, after fighting witt 
heroic valour, and killing seven men with his own hand, 
was obliged at last to surrender himself prisoner. Almost 
the whole army, full of nobility and brave officers, eithec 
perished by the sword, or were drowned in the river. The 
few who escaped with their lives fell into the hands of the 
enemy. 

Henry was startled at this important event, and became 
sensible of his own danger, from the loss of a proper coun- 
terpoise to the power of Charles. Instead ©f taking advan- 
tage, therefore, of the distressed condition of Francis, he 
was determined to lend him assistance in his present cala- 
mities ; and. as the glory of generosity in raising a fallen 
enemy concurred with his political interest, he hesitated 
the less in embracing these new measures. He con- 
cluded an alliance with the regent of France, and engaged 
to procure her son his liberty on reasonable conditions. 
Charles, dreading a general combination against him, 
was at length prevailed on to sign the treaty of Madrid. 
The principal condition was the restoring of Francis's 
liberty, and the delivery of his two eldest sons as hostages 
to the emperor for the cession of Burgundy. 

The more to cement the union between Henry and 
Francis, a new treaty was sometime after concluded at 
London ; in which t^ e former agreed finally to renounce 
all claims to the crown of France ; claims which might 
now indeed be deemed chimerical, but which often served 
as a pretence for disturbing the tranquillity of the two 
nations. As a return for this concession, Francis bound 
himself and his successors to pay for ever fifty thousand 
crowns a year to Henry and his successors ; and that 
oreater solemnity might be given to this treaty, it was 
acrreed that the parliaments and great nobihty of both 
Ivfngdoms should give their assent to it. Thus, the terror 
of the emperor's greatness had extinguished the ancient 
animosity between the nations ; and Spain, during more 
than a century, became the object of jealousy to the 
English. 

The marriage of Henry with Catherine of Arragon, his 
brother's widow, had not passed without much scruple and 
difficulty ; the prejudices of the people were in general bent 
against a conjugal union between such near relations ; and 



EDWARD VllU 183 

witli some doubts that naturally arose in Henry's mind, 
there concurred other causes, which tended much to in- 
crease his remorse. The queen was older than the king 
by no less than six years ; and the decay of her beauty, 
together with particular infirmities and diseases, had con- 
tributed, notwithstanding her blameless character and de- 
portment, to render her person unacceptable to him. 
Though she had borne him several children, they all died 
in early infancy, excpt one daughter ; and he was the 
more struck with this misfortune, because the curse of be- 
ing childless is the very threatening contained in the Mo- 
saical law against those who espouse their brother's widow. 
The succession too of the crown was a consideration that- 
occurred to every one, whenever the lawfulness of Henry's 
marriage was called in question ; and it was apprehended, 
that if doubts of Mary's legitimacy concurred with the 
weakness of her sex, the king of Scots, the next heir, would 
advance his pretensions, and might throw the kingdom in- 
to confusion. Thus the king was impelled, both by his 
private passions, and by motives of pubHc interest, to seek 
the dissolution of his inauspicious, and, as it was esteem- 
ed, unlawful marriage with Catherine. 

Anne Boleyn, who lately appeared at court, had been 
appointed maid of honour to the queen, and had acquired 
an entire ascendant over Henry's affections. This young 
lady, whose grandeur and misfortunes have rendered her 
so celebrated, was daughter of sir Thomas Boleyn, who 
had been employed by the king in several embassies, and 
who was allied to all the principal nobility in the kingdom. 
Henry's scruples or aversion had made him break off all 
conjugal commerce with the queen ; but as he still sup- 
ported an intercourse of civihty and friendship with her, 
he had occasion, in the frequent visits which he paid her, 
to observe the beauty, the youth, the charms of Anne Bo- 
leyn. Finding the accomplishment of her mind no wise 
inferior to her exterior graces, he even entertained the de- 
sign of raising her to the throne • and as every motive of 
inclination and pohcy seemed thus to concur in making 
the king desirous of a divorce from Catherine, he resolved 
to make application to pope Clement, and sent Knight, his 
secretary, to Rome for that purpose. Clement was then 



IS4 HISTORY Of ENGLAND. 

a prisoner in the hands of the emperor ; and when 
j^gn the English secretly solicited him in private, he 
* received a very favourable answer. After Clement 
had recovered his liberty, he granted a commission, to try 
the validity of the king's marriage, in which cardinal Cam- 
peggio was joined with VVolsey ; but in conformity with 
the people's views and intentions, the former deferred the 
decision by the most artful delays. At length, the busi- 
ness seemed to be drawing near to a period : and the king 
was every day in expectation of a sentence in his favour^ 
when the menaces and promises of Charles proved suc- 
cessful ; and Clement suspended the commission of the 
legates, adjourned the cause to his own personal judgment 
at Rome. 

Wolsey had long foreseen the failure of this measure as 
the sure forerunner of his ruin. The dukes of Norfolk 
and Suffolk were sent to require from him the great seal, 
which was delivered by the king to sir Thomas More. All 
his furniture and plate were seized ; and the cardinal was 
ordered to retire to Esher, a country seat which he pos- 
sessed near Hampton court. 

Dr. Thomas Cranmer, fellow of Jesus College in Cam- 
bridge, a man remarkable for his learning, and still more 
for the candour and disinterestedness of his temper, fall- 
ing one evening by accident into company with Gardiner, 
now secretary of state, and Fox, the king's almoner, the 
business of the divorce became the subject of conversation. 
Cranmer observed that the readiest way, either to quiet 
Henry's conscience, or extort the pope's consent, would be 
to consult all the universities of Europe with regard to 
this controverted point. When the king was informed of 
the proposal, he was delighted with it, and immediately, iii 
prosecution of the scheme proposed, employed his agents 
to collect the judgments of all the universities in Europe, 
The universities of France, of Venice, Ferrara, Padua,, 

and Bologna, with those of Oxford and Cambridge* 
ir^o g^^'^ their opinion in the king's favour ; and the 

convocations both of Canterbury and York pro- 
nounced Henry's marriage invalid. But Clement, who 
was still under the influence of the emperor, continued to 
summon the king to appear, either by himself or proxy, 
before his tribunal at Rome. 



HENRY Vin. 135 

After Wolsey had remained some time at Esher, he was 
uUowed to remove to Richmond ; but the courtiers, dread- 
ing still his vicinity to the king, procured an order for him 
to remove to his see of York. The cardinal, therefore, 
took up his residence a Cawood in Yorkshire ; but he was 
not allowed to remain long unmolested in this retreat. The 
earl of Northumberland received orders, without regard to 
Wolsey's ecclesiastical character, to arrest him for high- 
treason, and to conduct him to London, in order to take 
his trial. The cardinal, partly from the fatigues of his 
journey, partly from the agitation of his anxious mind, 
was seized with a disorder which turned into a dysentery, 
and he was able, with some difficulty, to reach Leicester- 
abbey, where he immediately took to his bed, whence he 
never rose more. A little before he expired, among other 
expressions, he used the following words to sir WiUiam 
Kingston, constable of the Tower, who had him in custo- 
dy : " Had I but served God as diligently as I have served 
my king, he would not have given me over in my gray 
hairs." Thus died this famous cardinal, whose character 
seems to have contained as singular a variety as the fortune 
to which he was exposed. 

A new session of parhament was held, together with a 
convocation ; and from the latter a confession was 

AT) 

exorted, that "the king was the protector, and /^qi 
the supreme head of the church and clergy of Eng- "^ ' 
land." In the next session, an act was passed against le- 
vying the annates or first-fruits ; and it was also voted, that 
any censures which should be passed by the court of Rome, 
on account of that law, should be entirely disregarded. 

Having proceeded too far to recede, Henry privately 
celebrated his marriage with Anne Boleyn, whom 
he had previously created marchioness of Pern- ^r^o 
broke. Anne became pregnant soon after her Mar- 
riage ; and this event gave great satisfaction to the king. 
An act was made against all appeals to Rome in causes of 
matrimony and divorces ; and Henry finding the new 
queen's pregnacy to advance, publicly owned his mar- 
riage, and informed Catherine that she was hereafter to be 
treated only as princess-dowager of Wales. 

The parliament enacted laws which were totally subver- 
sive of the papal authority in England. But the most im- 



186 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

portant law passed this session, was that which regulated 
the succession to the crown. The marriage of the king 
%vith Catherine was declared unlawful, void, and of no 
effect ; and the marriage with queen Anne was established 
and confirmed. The crown was appointed to descend to 
the issue of this marriage, and failing them, to the king's 
heirs for ever. An oath likewise was enjoined to be taken 
in favour of this order of succession, under the penalty of 
imprisonment during the king's pleasure, and forfeiture of 
goods and chattels. Fisher, bishop of Rochester, and sir 
Thomas More, were the only persons of note who scrupled 
the oath of succession : and the king ordered both to be 
indicted upon the statute, and committed prisoners to the 
Tower. 

The parliament being again assembled, conferred on the 
king the title of the only supreme head on earth of the 
- * o / church of England : and in this memorable act they 
acknowledged his inherent power, " to visit, and re- 
press, redress, reform, order, correct, restrain, or amend, 
all errors, heresies, abuses, offences, contempts, and enor- 
mities, which fell under any spiritual authority, or juris- 
diction." They also declare it treason to attempt, imagine, 
or speak evil against the king, queen, or his heirs, or to 
endeavour depriving them of their dignities or titles. They 
gave him a right to all the annates and tithes of benefices, 
which had formerly been paid to the court of Rome. They 
attainted More and Fisher for misprison of treason ; and 
they completed the union of England and Wales, by giving 
to that principality all the benefits of the English laws. 

Though Henry had rejected the authority of the see of 
Rome, yet the idea of heresy still appeared detestable as 
well as formidable to that prince ; and for more reasons 
than one, he was indisposed to encourage the opinions of 
the reformers. Separate as he stood from the catholic 
church, and from the Roman pontiff, the head of it, he 
still valued himself on maintaining the catholic doctrine, 
and on guarding by fire and sword the imagined purity of 
liis speculative principles. 

Henry's ministers and courtiers were of as motley a cha- 
racter as his conduct ; and seemed to waver, during this 
whole reign, between the ancient and the new religion. The 
queen, engaged by interest as well as inclination, favoured 



HENRY \ni. IB7 

the cause of the reformers. Cromwell, who was created 
secretary of state, and who was daily advancing in the 
king's confidence, had embraced the same views ; and as 
he was a man of prudence and abilities, he was able, very 
effectually, though in a covert manner, to promote the 
late innovations. Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, 
had secretly adopted the protestant tenets : and he had 
gained Henry's friendship by his candour and sincerity ; 
virtues which he possessed in as eminent a degree as those 
times, equally distracted with faction and oppressed by 
tyranny, could easily permit. On the other hand, the 
duke of Norfolk adhered to the ancient faith ; and by his 
high rank, as well as by his talents both for peace and 
war, he had great authority in the king's council : Gardi- 
ner, lately created bishop of Winchester, had enlisted 
himself in the same party ; and the suppleness of his 
character, and dexterity of his conduct, had rendered him 
one of its principal supporters. 

In the mean time, the king, who held the balance be- 
tween the factions, was enabled, by the courtship paid him 
both by proiestants and catholics, to assume an un- 
bounded authority. The ambiguity of his conduct, though- 
it kept the courtiers in awe, served in the main to encour- 
age the protestant doctrine among his subjects. Thf 
books composed by the Lutherans were secretly importec- 
into England, and made converts every where ; but 
translation of the Scriptures, by Tindal, who, dreading the 
exertion of the king's authority, had fled to Antwerp, was 
justly deemed one of the most fatal blows to the establish- 
ed faith. 

Though Henry neglected not to punish those who ad- 
hered to the protestant doctrine, which he deemed heresy, 
yet he knew that his most formidable enemies were the 
monks, who, having their immediate dependence on the 
Roman pontiff', apprehended their own ruin to be the cer- 
tain consequence of abolishnig his authority in England. 
Some of these were detected in a conspiracy ; and the 
detection instigated the king to take vengeance on them. 
He suppressed three monasteries ; and finding that little 
clamour was excited by this act of power, he was more 
encouraged to lay his rapacious hands on the remainder. 
Meanwhile, he exercised punishments on individuals who 

17 



188 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

were obnoxious to him. The parliament had made it trea- 
son to endeavour to deprive the king of his dignity or 
titles ; they had lately added to his other titles that of 
supreme head of the church ; it was inferred that to deny 
his supremacy was treason ; and many priors and ecclesi- 
astics lost their lives for this new species of guilt. Impel- 
led by his violent temper, and desirous of striking a terror 
into the who^e nation, Henry proceeded, by making exam- 
ples of Fisher and More, to consummate his tyranny. 

When the execution of Fisher and More was reported 
at Rome, Paul Ui., who had succeeded Clement VII. in 
the papal throne, excommunicated the king and his adhe- 
rents, deprived him of his crown, and gave his kingdom 
to any invader ; but he delayed the publication of 
.^'i^* tbis sentence till the emperor, who was at that 
* time hard pressed by the Turks and the protestant 
princes in Germany, should be in a condition to carry it 
into execution. However, an incident happened, which 
seemed to open the way for a reconciliation between 
Henry and Charles. Queen Catherine died at Kimbolton 
in the county of Huntingdon, of a lingering illness, in the 
fiftieth year of her age. She wrote a very tender letter to 
the king, a little before she expired, fn which she gave him 
the appellation of her most dear lord, king, and husband ; 
and she concluded with these words : " I make this vow, 
ihtit mine eye;'; desire you above all things." The king 
was touched even to the shedding of tears, by this last 
teuder proof of Catherine's affection ; but queen Anne is 
baid to have expressed her joy from the death of a rival 
beyond what decency or humanity could permit. 

The emperor thought that, as the demise of his aunt had 
removed all foundation of a personal animosity between 
him and Hem-y, it might not be impossible to detach him 
from the alliance of France ; but Henry was rendered in- 
different to the advances made by the emperor, both by 
his experience of the duplicity and insincerity of that 
monarch, and the ill success that he met with in his inva- 
sion of Provence 

Henry, consc o^^s of the advantages of his situation, 
determined to suppress the monasteries, and to put him- 
self in possession of their ample revenues, and for that 
purpose he delegated his supremacy to Cromwell, who 



HENRY VIII. 



189 



was then secretary of state, and who employed commis- 
sioners to inquire into the conduct and deportment of the 
friars. If we may credit the reports of the commissioners, 
monstrous disorders were found in many of the rehgious 
houses. Henry had recourse to his usual instrument of 
power, the parhament ; and in order to prepare men for 
the innovations projected, the report of the visiters was 
pubhshed, and a general horror was endeavoured to be 
excited in the nation against institutions, which had long 
been the objects of the most profound veneration. An act 
was, therefore, passed, by which three hundred and seven- 
ty-six monasteries were suppressed, and their revenues, 
amounting to thirty-two thousand pounds a year, were 
granted to the king, together with their goods, chattels, 
and plate, computed at a hundred thousand pounds more. 
It does not appear that any opposition was made to this 
important law : so absolute was Henry's authority ! 

But while the supporters of the new religion were exult- 
ing in their prosperity, they met with a mortification in the 
fate of their patroness Anne Boleyn, who lost her life by 
the rage of her furious husband. She had been dehvered 
of a dead son ; and Henry's extremt fondness for male 
issue was thereby disappointed. The king's love was 
transferred to Jane, daughter of sir John Seymour ; and he 
was determined to sacrifice every thin^: to the gratification 
of his new appetite. In a tilting at Greenwich, the queen 
happened to drop her handkerchief, an accident probably 
casual, but interpreted by the king as an instance of gal- 
lantry to some of her paramours. He immediately arrested 
several persons, in the number of whom was lord Roche- 
ford, the queen's brother ; and next day he ordered the 
queen to be carried to the 1 ower. The queen and her 
brother were tried by a jury of peers ; and the chief evi- 
dence adduced against them was, that Rocheford had been 
seen to lean on her bed, before some company. Unas- 
sisted by counsel, the queen defended herself with great 
judgment and presence of mind ; and the spectators pro- 
nounced her entirely innocent. Judgment, however, was 
given against both her and Rocheford ; and when the 
dreadful sentence was pronounced, lifting up her hands to 
heaven, she exclaimed, " O Father, O Creator, thou who 



i 90 HISTORY OF El&CfLAND. 

art the way, the truth, and the life, thou knowest that I 
have not deserved this fate." After being beheaded, her 
body was thrown into a common chest of elm-tree, made 
to hold arrows, and was buried in the Tower. The inno- 
cence of Anne Boleyn cannot reasonably be called in ques- 
tion ; and the king made the most effectual apology for her, 
by marrying Jane Seymour the day after the execution. 
The parliament had the meanness to declare the issue of 
both his former marriages illegitimate ; and the crown 
was settled on the king's issue by Jane Seymour, or any 
subsequent wife ; and in case he should die without issue, 
he was empowered by his will to dispose of the crown. 

A convocation which sat at the same time with the par- 
liament, determined the standard of faith to consist in the 
Scriptures, and the three creeds, the Apostolic, Nicene, 
and Athanasian ; auricular confession, and penance, were 
admitted : but no mention was made of marriage, extreme 
unction, ( ? ifirmation, oi holy orders, as sacraments ; and 
in this omisri on the influence of the protestants appeared. 
The real presence, however, was asserted, conformably to 
the ancient doctrine ; while the terms of acceptance were 
established to be the merits of Christ, and the mercy^and 
good pleasure of God, suitable to the new principles. 
These articles of belief were formed by the convocation, 
corrected by the king, and subscribed by every member of 
that society ; whilst not one, except Henry, adopted these 
doctrines and opinions. The expelled monks, wandering 
about the country, excited both the piety and compassion 
of men ; and as the ancient religion took hold of the popu- 
lace by powerful motives, suited to vulgar capacity, it was 
able, now that it was brought into apparent hazard, to 
raise the strongest zeal in its favour, 'i he first rising was 
in Lincolnshire, and amounted to about twenty thousand 
men ; but the duke of Suffolk appearing at the head of 
some forces, with secret assurances of pardon, the popu- 
lace was dispersed and a few of their leaders suffered. 
The northern rebels were more numerous and more for- 
midable than those of Lincolnshire. One Aske, a gentle- 
man, had taken the command of them, and possessed the 
art of governing the populace. Their enterprise they 
called the Pilgrimage ef Grace : they took an oath thai 
their only motive proceeded from their love to Godj theii: 



HENRY Vlli, 191 

care of the king's person and issue, their desire o^ . j. 
purifying the nobility, of restoring the church, and .r^~ 
of suppressing heresy. The duke of Norfolk was 
appointed general of the king's forces against the rebels. 
Aske, with many other chiefs, was put to death ; and an 
amnesty was granted to the people. 

Not long after this prosperous issue, Henry's joy was 
crowned by the birth of a son, who was baptized by the 
name of Edward ; yet his happiness was not without alloy, 
for in two days after the queen died. The prince, not six 
days old, was created prince of Wales, duke of Cornwall, 
and earl of Chester ; sir Edward Seymour, the queen's 
brother, was raised to the dignity of earl of Hertford ; sir 
William Fitzwilliams, high-admiral, was created earl of 
Southampton ; sir William Pauiet, lord St. John : sir John 
Russel, lord Russel. 

Henry's rapacity, the consequence of his profusion, pro- 
duced the most entire destruction of the monasteries ; a 
new visitation of them was appointed ; and the abbots and 
monks were induced, in hopes of better treatment, to make 
a voluntary resignation of their houses. The whole reve- 
nue of these establishments amounted to one hundred and 
sixty-one thousand one hundred pounds. Great murmurs 
were every where excited on account of these violent mea- 
sures ; but Henry took an effectual method of interesting 
the nobility and gentry in the success of his measures ; 
he either made a gift of the revenues of convents to his 
favourites and courtiers, or sold them at low prices, or 
exchanged them for other lands on very disadvantageous 
terms. The court of Rome saw this sacrilegious plunder 
with extreme indignation ; and Henry was frequently re* 
proached with his resemblance to the emperor Julian. 

The king was so much governed by passion, that no- 
thing could have delayed his opposition against Rome, 
but some new objects of animosity. Though he had gra- 
dually been changing the tenets of that theological system 
in which he had been educated, yet he was no less dog- 
matical in the few articles which remained to him, than if 
the whole fabric had been entire and unshaken. The 
point on which he chiefly rested his orthodoxy happened 
to be the real presence ; and every departure from this 
principle, he held to be heretical and detestable, 

^17 



19 J HISTORY OF ENGLAKTD. 

Lambert) a schoolmaster in London, drew up objection? 
against the corporeal presence ; and when cited by Cran- 
mer and Latimer, instead of recanting, he ventured to ap- 
peal to the king. Henry, not displeased with an opportu- 
nity of exerting his supremacy, and displaying his learn- 
ing, accepted the appeal. Public notice was given, that 
he intended to enter the lists with the schoolmaster : scaf- 
folds were erected in Westminster-hall for the accommo- 
dation of the audience ; and Henry appeared on his throne, 
accompanied with all the ensigns of majesty, and with the 
prelates and temporal peers on each side of him. The 
bishop of Chichester opened the conference ; and the king 
asked Lambert^ with a stern countenance, what his opinion 
was of Christ's corporeal presence in the sacrament of the 
altar. He afterwards pressed Lambert with arguments 
drawn from Scripture and the schoolmen. The audience 
applauded the force of his reasoning and the extent of his 
erudition : Cranmer seconded his proofs by some neW 
topics ; Gardiner entered the lists as a support to Cran- 
mer ; Tonstal took up the argument after Gardiner ; 
Stokesley brought fresh aid to Tonstal ; six bishops more 
appeared successively in the field after Stokesley ; and 
the disputation, if it deserves the name, was proclaimed for 
five hours ; till Lambert, fatigued, confounded, brow- 
beaten, and abashed, was at last reduced to silence. The 
king then proposed, as a concluding argument, this inter- 
esting question, whether he were resolved to live or to 
die 1 Lambert replied, that he cast himself wholly on his 
majesty's clemency : the king told him, that he would be 
no protector of heretics ; and, therefore, if that were his 
final answer, he must expect to be committed to the flames. 
Cromwell, as vicegerent, pronounced the sentence against 
him. Lambert's executioners took care to make the suf- 
ferings of a man who had personally opposed the king, as 
cruel as possible : he was burned at a slow fire ; and when 
there appeared no end of his torments, some of the guards, 
more merciful than the rest, Ufted him on their halberts, 
and threw him into the flames, where he was consumed. 
While they were emplo}ed in this friendly office, he cried 
aloud several times, notie but Christ, none but Christ ; and 
with these words he expired. 

Immediately after the death of Jane Seymour, Henry 



HENRV viir. 493 

began to think of a new marriage ; and Cromwell proposed 
to him Anne of Cleves, whose father, the duke of that 
name, had great interest among the Lutheran princes. 
The marriage was at length concluded ; and Anne waS 
sent over to England. The king, however, found 
her^utterly destitute both of beauty and grace ; . " * 
swore that she was a great Flanders mare and de- 
clared that he never could possibly bear her any affection* 
His aversion to the queen secretly increased every day ; 
and having at last broken all restraint, it prompted him at 
once to seek the dissolution of a marriage so odious to 
him, and to involve his minister in ruin, who had been the 
innocent author of it. The fall of Cromwell was hasten- 
ed by other causes. The catholics regarded him as the 
concealed enemy of their religion ; the protestants, ob* 
serving his exterior concurrence with all the persecutions 
exercised against them, were inclined to bear him as little 
favour ; and the king, who found that great clamour had 
on all hands arisen against the government, was not dis- 
pleased to throw on Cromwell the load of pubhc hatred, 
hoping by so easy a sacrifice to regain the affections of his 
subjects. Another more powerful cause, however, brought 
about an unexpected revolution in the ministry. The king 
had fixed his affections on Catherine Howard, niece to the 
duke of Norfolk ; and, being determined to gratify this 
new passion, he could find no other expedient than a di- 
vorce from his present consort, to raise Catherine to his 
bed and throne. The duke, who had long been in enmity 
with the minister, obtained a commission from the king to 
arrest Cromwell at the council-table, on an accusation of 
high-treason, and to commit him to the Tower. Immedi- 
ately after, a bill of attainder was framed against him ; and 
the house of peers thought proper, without trial, examin- 
ation, or evidence, to condemn to death, on the most friv- 
olous pretences, a man whom, a few days before, they had 
declared worthy to be vicar-general of the universe. The 
house of commons passed the bill, though not without 
some opposition. When brought to the place of execu- 
tion, Cromwell avoided all earnest protestations of his in- 
nocence, and all complaints against the sentence pro- 
nounced upon him. He knew that Henry would resent 
on his son those symptoms of opposition to his will, and 



194 HISTORY ©P ENOLANP, 

that his death alone would not terminate that monarch'^ 
vengeance. He was a man of prudence, industry, and 
abilities ; worthy of a better master and of a better fate. 
Though raised to the summit of power from a low origin, 
yet he betrayed no insolence or contempt towards his in- 
feriors ; and he was careful to remember all the obliga- 
tions which, during his more humble fortune, he had owed 
to any one ; a circumstance that reflects the highest lustre 
on his character. 

The measures for divorcing Henry from Anne of Cleves, 
were carried on at the same time with the bill of attainder 
against Cromwell. Anne had formerly been contracted, 
by her father, to the duke of Lorraine ; and Henry pleaded 
this precontract as a ground of divorce. The convocation 
was satisfied with this reason, and solemnly annulled the 
marriage between the king and queen ; the parliament ra- 
tified the decision of the clergy ; and Anne, blest with a 
happy insensibility of temper, accepted of a settlement of 
three thousand pounds a-year, and gave her consent to the 
divorce. 

An alliance contracted by Henry with the emperor, and 
his marriage with Catherine Howard, which followed soon 
after his divorce from Anne of Cleves, were regarded as 
favourable incidents to the catholics ; and the subsequent 
events corresponded to their expectations. A fierce per- 
secution commenced against the protestants ; but whilst 
the king exerted his violence against the protestants, he 
spared not the catholics, who denied his supremacy ; and 
hence it was said by a foreigner in England, that those who 
were against the pope were burned, and those who were 
for him were hanged. 

Henry had thought himself very happy in his new mar- 
riage : the agreeable person and disposition of Catherine 
had entirely captivated his affections ; and he made no 
secret of his devoted attachment to her. But the queen's 
conduct very little merited this tenderness : one Lascelles 
brought intelligence of her dissolute life to Cranmer : and 
told him that Derham and Mannoc, both of them servants 
to the old duchess of Norfolk, had been admitted to her 
bed. Three maids of the family were admitted into her 
secrets, and some of them had even passed the night in 
bed with her and her lovers. The queen being questioned* 





Henry Fill 




Edward VI 



Mary, 



HE!fRYVIIh 195 

denied her guilt ; but when informed that a full discovery 
was made, she confessed that she had been criminal before 
marriage ; and only insisted that she had never been fals^ 
to the king's bed. But as there was evidence that one 
Colepepper had passed the night with her alone since her 
marriage ; and as it appeared that she had taken Derham, 
her old paramour, into her service, she seemed to deserve 
little credit in this asseveration ; and the king, besides, was 
not of a humour to make any difference between these de- 
grees of guilt. 

Henry convoked a parliament, the usual instrument of 
his tyranny ; and the two houses, having received the 
queen's confession, voted a bill of attainder for treason 
against the queen, and the viscountess Rocheford, who had 
conducted her secret amours ; and in this bill Colepepper 
and Derham were also comprehended. At the same time, 
they passed a bill of attainder for misprision of treason 
against the old duchess of Norfolk, Catherine's grand- 
mother ; her uncle, lord WiUiam Howard, and his lady, 
together with the countess of Bridgewater, and nine per- 
sons more ; because they knew the queen's vicious course 
of life before her marriage, and had concealed it. Henry 
himself seems to have been sensible of the cruelty of this 
proceeding : for he pardoned the duchess of Norfolk, and 
most of the others condemned for misprision of treason. 
However, to secure himself for the future, as well as his 
successors, from this fatal accident, he engaged the parlia- 
men to pass a law, that if the king married any woman who 
had been incontinent, taking her for a true maid, she should 
be guilty of treason if she did net previously reveal her 
guilt to him. The people made merry with this singular 
enactment, and said, that the king must henceforth look 
out for a widow ; for no reputed maid would ever be per- 
suaded to incur the penalty of the statute. After this, 
the queen was beheaded on Tower-hill, together with lady 
Rocheford. They behaved in a manner suitable to their 
dissolute life ; and as lady Rocheford was known to be the 
chief instrument in bringing Anne Boleyn to her untimely 
end, she died unpitied. 

James, king of the Scots, having incurred the resent- 
ilient of Henry, a manifesto soon paved the way to hostili* 
lies ; and the duke of Norfolk, at the head of twenty thou- 



^ 



196 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

sand men, passed the Tweed at Berwick, and marched along 
the banks of the river as far as Kelso ; but on the approach 
of James, with thirty thousand men, the English repassed 
the river, and retreated into their own country. The king 
of Scots, inflamed with a desire of military glory, and of 
revenge on his invaders, gave the signal for pursuing them, 
and carrying the war into England ; but his nobility, who 
were in general disaffected on account of the preference 
which he had given to the clergy, opposed this resolution, 
and refused to attend him in his projected enterprise. En- 
raged at this mutiny, he reproached them with cowardice, 
and threatened vengeance ; but he sent ten thousand men 
to the western borders, who entered England at Solway 
Frith ; and he himself followed them at a small distance. 
This army, however, was ready to disband, when a small 
body of English appeared, not exceeding five hundred 
men, under the command of Dacres and Musgrave. A 
panic seized the Scots, who immediately took to flight, and 
were pursued by the enemy. Few were killed in this 
rout, but a great many were taken prisoners, and some of 
the principal nobility, who were all sent to London. James, 
being naturally of a melancholic disposition, as well as en- 
dued with a high spirit, lost all command of his temper 
on this dismal occasion. Rage against his nobility, who 
he believed had betrayed him ; shame for a defeat by such 
unequal numbers ; regret for the past, fear of the future ; 
all these passions so wrought upon him, that he would ad- 
mit of no consolation, but abandoned himself wholly to 
despair. His body was wasted by sympathy with his 
anxious mind ; and even his life began to be thought in 
danger. He had no issue living, and hearing that his queen 
was safely delivered, he asked whether she had brought 
him a male or a female child ; Being told the latter, he 
turned himself in his bed: " The crown came with a wo- 
man," said he, " and it will go with one : many 
- * .g miseries await this poor kingdom : Henry will 
make it his own, either by force of arms or by mar- 
riage." A few days after, he expired, in the flower of his 
"age. 

Henry was no sooner informed of his victory, and of 
the death of his nephew, than he projected the scheme of 
uniting Scotland to his own dominions, by marrying his 



HENHY VIII. !97 

son Edward to the heiress of that kingdom. The Scottish 
nobles, who were his prisoners, readily assented to the pro- 
posal ; and after delivering hostages for their return, in 
case the intended nuptials should not be completed, they 
were all allowed to return to Scotland. A negotiation was 
commenced with sir Ralph Sadler, the Enghsh ambassa- 
dor, for the marriage of the infant queen with the prince 
of Wales ; and equitable conditions were quickly agreed 
on ; but Beaton, the cardinal primate, who acted as minis- 
ter to James, was able, by his intrigues, to confound this 
measure. He represented the union with England as the 
certain ruin of the ancient religion ; and as soon as he 
found a war with that kingdom unavoidable, he immedi- 
ately applied to France for assistance during- the present 
distresses of the Scottish nation. The influence of the 
French in Scotland excited the resentment of Henry, who 
formed a close league with the emperor ; and war was de- 
clared against Francis by the allies. 

In order to obtain supplies for this projected war with 
France, Henry summoned a new session of parliament, 
which granted him a subsidy. About the same time, the 
king married Catherine Par, Widow of Nevil, lord 
Latimer, a woman of virtue, and somewhat inclined ^iFc^ 
to the reformed doctrines. On the other hand, the 
king's league with the emperor seemed a circumstance no 
less favourable to the catholic party ; and thus matters re- 
mained still nearly balanced between the factions. 

While the winter season restrained Henry from mihtary 
operations, he summoned a new parliament, which, after 
declaring the prince of Wales, or any of the king's male 
issue, first heirs to the crown, restored the two princesses, 
Mary and Elizabeth, to their right of succession. Such, 
however, was the caprice of the king, that while he opened 
the way for these princesses to ascend the throne, he 
would not allow the acts to be reversed which declared 
them illegitimate ! 

Henry sent a fleet and army to invade Scotland. The 
troops were disembarked near Leith ; and, after dispers- 
ing a small body which opposed them, they took that town 
without resistance, and then marched to Edinburgh, the 
gates of which were soon beaten down ; and the Enghsh 
first pillaged, and then set fire to the city. The earl of 
Arran, who was regent, and Beaton the cardinal, were 



198 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

not prepared to oppose so great a force ; and they fled to 
Stirling. The Enghsh marched eastward, laid waste the 
whole country, burned and destroyed Haddington and 
Dunbar, and then retreated into England. 

This incursion inflamed, without subduing the spirit o£ 
the Scots ; but Henry recalled his troops, in consequence 
of his treaty with the emperor, by which those two princes 
Ihad agreed to invade France with above one hundred 
thousand men. The city of Boulogne was treacherously 
Surrendered to Henry ; but the emperor, after taking seve- 
ral places, concluded a peace with Francis, at Crepy^ 
where no mention was made of England ; and Henry, 
finding himself obliged to raise the siege of Montreuil, re- 
turned into England. This campaign served to the popur 
lace as matter of great triumph ; but all men of sense con- 
cluded that the king had, as in all his former military en- 
terprises, obtained, at a great expense, an unimportant ac- 
e^uisition. 

The war with Scotland, meanwhile, was conducted 
feebly, and with various success ; and the war with 
*• * France was not distinguished by any memorable 
' event. The great expense of these two wars main- 
tained by Henry, obliged him to summon a new parlia* 
xnent. The commons granted him a subsidy, payable in 
two years, of two shillings a pound on land ; the spiritua- 
lity voted him six shillings a pound. But the parliament, 
apprehensive lest more demands should be made upon 
them, endeavoured to save themselves by a very extraor- 
dinary liberality of other people's property. By one vote 
they bestowed on the king all the revenues of the universi- 
ties, as well as of the chauntries, free chapels, and hospi- 
tals. Henry was pleased with this concession, as it in- 
creased his power ; but he had no intention to rob learn- 
incr of all her endowments ; and he soon took care to in- 
form the universities that he meant not to touch their 
revenues. Thus these ancient and celebrated establish- 
ments owe their existence to the generosity of the king, 
not to the protection of this servile parliament. 

Henry employed in military preparations the money 

granted by parliament ; and he sent over the earl 

1^546* ^^ Hertford and lord Lisle, the admiral, to Calais, 

with a body of nine thousand men, two-thirds of 

vyhich consisted of foreigners. Some skirmishes of small 



HENRY vin. 199 

moment ensued with the French : but as no hopes of any 
considerable progress could be entertained by either party, 
both came to an accommodation. Commissioners met at 
Campe, a small place between Ardres and Guisnes ; and 
it was agreed, that Henry should retain Boulogne during 
eight years, or till the former debt due by Francis should 
be paid. This debt was settled at two millions of livres, 
besides a claim of five hundred thousand livres, which was 
afterwards to be adjusted. Francis took care to compre- 
hend Scotland in the treaty. Thus all that Henry obtained 
by a war which cost hira above one million three hundred 
and forty thousand pounds sterling, was a bad and a 
chargeable security for a debt which was not a third of 
the value. 

The king had now leisure to attend to domestic affairs. 
He was prevailed on to permit the Litany to be celebrated 
in the vulgar tongue ; and Cranmer, taking advantage of 
Gardiner's absence on an embassy to the emperor, at- 
tempted to draw him into farther innovasions'; butGardin* 
er wrote to Henry, and retarded for some time the projects 
of Cranmer. The Catholics took hold of the king by his 
passion for orthodoxy : and they represented to him, that 
if his laudable zeal for enforcing the truth met with no bet- 
ter success, it was altogether owing to the primate, whose 
example and encouragement were, in reality, the secret 
supports of heresy. Henry, seeing the point at which 
they aimed, feigned a compliance, and desired the council 
to make inquiry into Cranmer's conduct. Every body now 
considered the primate as lost ; and when admitted into 
the council-chamber, he was told, that they had deter- 
mined to send him to the Tower. Cranmer said, that he 
appealed to the king himself ; and finding his appeal dis- 
regarded, he produced a ring, which Henry had given him 
as a pledge of favour and protection. The council were 
confounded ; and when they came before the king, he re- 
proved them in the severest terms ; and told them that he 
was well acquainted with Cranmer's merit, as well as with 
their malignity and envy. 

But though Henry's partial favour for Cranmer ren- 
dered fruitless all accusations against him, his pride and 
peevishness, irritated by his declining state of health, in- 
duced him to punish with severity every other person who 

18 



200 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

differed from him in opinion. Ann Ascue, a young lady 
of merit as well as beauty, who was connected with the 
queen herself, was accused of dogmatizing on the real pre- 
sence ; and, after being subjected to the torture in the most 
barbarous manner, she was sentenced to be burned alive, 
with four others condemned for the same crime. When 
they were all tied to the stake, they refused the pardon 
that was offered on condition of recantation ; and they 
saw with tranquillity the executioner kindle the flames that 
were to consume them. 

Though the secrecy and fidelity of Ann Ascue saved 
the queen from this peril, yet that princess soon after fell 
into a new danger, from which she narrowly escaped. 
Henry's favourite topic of conversation was theology ; and 
Catherine, whose good sense enabled her to discourse on 
any subject, was frequently engaged in the argument ; and, 
being secretly mclined to the principles of the reformers, 
she unwarily betrayed too much of her mind on these oc- 
casions. Henry, highly provoked that she should presume 
to differ from him, complained of her obstinacy to Gardi- 
ner, who gladly laid hold of the opportunity to inflame the 
quarrel ; and the king, hurried on by his own impetuous 
temper, and encouraged by his bigoted counsellors, went 
so far as to order articles of impeachment to be drawn up 
against his consort. By some means this important paper 
fell into the hands of one of the queen's friends, who im- 
mediately carried the intelligence to her. Sensible of the 
extreme danger to which she was exposed, she paid her 
usual visit to the king, who entered on the subject most 
familiar to him, and who seemed to challenge her to an 
argument in divinity. She gently declined the conversa- 
tion, and remtjrked, that such profound speculations were 
ill-suited to the natural imbecility of her sex. Woman, she 
said, by their creation., were made subject to men. It be- 
longed to the hu-band to choose principles for his wife ; the 
wife's duty vvas, in ail cases, to adopt implicitly the senti- 
ments of iier hisbaiid ; and as to herself, it was doubly her 
duty, being blast wiih a iiusbaad who was qualified by his 
judgment and learning to choose principles not only for his 
own family, uit for the most wise and knowing of every 
nation. " Not so, by St. Mary," replied the king ; " you 
are now beconie a doctor, Kate ; and better fitted to give 
than receive instructions." She meekly repHed, that she 



HENRY VIII. 201 

was sensible how little she was entitled to these praises ; 
that though she usually declined not any conversation, how- 
ever sublime, when proposed by his majesty, she well knew 
that her conceptions could serve to no other purpose than 
to give him a little momentary amusement ; that she found 
the conversation apt to languish, when not revived by 
some opposition, and she had ventured sometimes to feign 
a contrariety of sentiments, in order to give him the plea- 
sure of refuting her ; and that she also purposed, by this 
innocent artifice, to engage him on topics whence she had 
observed, by frequent experience, that she reaped profit 
and instruction. " And is it so, sweetheart ?" replied the 
king ; " then we are perfect friends again." He embraced 
her with great affection, and sent her away with assurances 
of his protection and kindness. 

The reputation which the duke of Norfolk had acquired 
in war, his high rank, and his influence as the head of the 
catholic party, rendered that nobleman obnoxious to Henry, 
who foresaw danger, during his son's minority, from the 
attempts of so potent a subject. His son, the earl of Surrey, 
had distinguished himself by every accomplishment which 
became a scholar, a courtier, and a soldier : but having 
declined the hand of the daughter of the earl of Hertford, 
and even waived every other proposal of marriage, Henry 
imagined that he entertained the design of espousing the 
lady Mary. Actuated by these suspicions, the king gave 
private orders to arrest Norfolk and Surrey, who, on the 
same day, were confined in the Tcwer. Surrey was ac- 
cused of entertaining in his family some Italians, who were 
suspected to be spies, of corresponding with cardinal Pole, 
and of quartering on his escutcheon the arms of Edward the 
Confessor, a practice which had been justified by the au- 
thority of the heralds. Notwithstanding his eloquent and 
spirited defence, a venal jury condemned him for high- 
treason; and their sentence was soon after executed 
upon him. The innocence of Norfolk, was, if pos- ti-Ff^ 
sible, still more apparent than that of his son, yet 
the house of peers, without trial or evidence, passed a bill 
of attainder against him, and sent it down to the commons. 
The king was now approaching fast towards his end, and 
fearing lest Norfolk should escape him, he sent a message 
to the commons to expedite the bill. The obsequious com- 



202 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

mons obeyed his directions; and the king, having affixed the 
royal assent to the bill by commissioners, issued orders for 
the execution of Norfolk on the morning of the twenty- 
ninth of January. But news being carried to the Tower 
that the king himself had expired the preceding night, the 
lieutenant deferred obeying the warrant ; and it was not 
thought advisable by the council to begin a new reign 
with the death of the greatest nobleman in the kingdom, 
who had been condemned by a sentence so unjust and ty- 
rannical. 

The king's health had long been in a declining state ; 
but for several days, all those near him plainly saw his end 
approaching, yet no one durst inform him of his condition. 
Atiast sir Anthony Denny ventured to disclose to him the 
fatal secret, and exhorted him to prepare for the event. 
He expressed his resignation, and desired that Cranmer 
might be sent for ; but before the prelate arrived he was 
speechless, though he still seemed to retain his senses. 
Cranmer desired him to give some sign of his dying in the 
faith of Christ : he squeezed the prelate's hand, and im- 
mediately expired, after a reign of thirty-seven years and 
nine months ; and in the fifty-sixth year of his age. 

The king had made his will near a month before his de- 
mise, in which he confirmed the destination of parliament, 
by leaving the crown first to prince Edward, then to the 
lady Mary, next to the lady Elizabeth. The two princesses 
he obliged, under the penalty of forfeiting their title to the 
crown, not to marry without consent of the council, which 
he appointed for the government of his minor son. 

A catalogue of this prince's vices would comprehend 
many of the worst qualities incidental to human nature; 
violence, cruelty, profusion, rapacity, injustice, obstinacy, 
arrogance, bigotry, and presumption ; yet, he was sincere, 
open, gallant, liberal, and capable, at least of a temporary 
friendship and attachment. Notwithstanding his cruelty 
and extortion, he seems to have possessed to the last, in 
some degree, the love and affection of his people. Indeed, 
his exterior qualities were advantageous, and fit to capti- 
vate the multitude ; and his magnificence and personal 
bravery rendered him illustrious in vulgar eyes. 



EDWARD VI. 203 

CHAP. XI, 

The reigns of Edward VI. and Mary. 

Edward, at his accession, was little more than nine years 
of age ; and as his majority was fixed at the completion of 
his eighteenth year, his father had appomted sixteen 
executors, to whom, during the minority, he in- ^'' 
trusted the government of the kingdom. Among 
these were Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury ; lord 
Wriothesley, chancellor ; lord St. John, great master ; 
lord Russei, privy-seal ; the earl of Hertford, chamberlain ; 
viscount Lisle, admiral ; Tonstal, bisnop of Durham ; with 
other officers of state, and two or three private persons. 
To these executors, with whom was intrusted the regal au- 
thority, were associated twelve counsellors, v;ho possess- 
ed no immediate power, and could only assist with their 
advice when any aftair was laid before them. 

No sooner were the executors and counsellors met, than 
it was suggested that the government would lose its dig- 
nity, for want of some head to represent the royal majesty. 
Though this was a departure from the late king's will, yet 
the measure was carried ; and the choice fell of course on 
the earl of Hertford, the king's maternal uncle. In their 
next measure, they showed a great deference to Henry's 
intentions. Hertford was created duke of Somerset, 
maresciial and lord treasurer, Wriothesley, earl of South- 
ampton ; the earl of Essex, marquis of N<^rthampton ; 
viscount Lisle, earl of Warwick ; sir Thomas Seymour, 
lord Seymour of Sudley, and admiral ; and sir Richard 
Rich, sir William VVilloughby, and sir Edward ShetHeld, 
were raised to the dignity of barons. 

The earl of Southampton had always been engaged in 
an opposite party to Jjomerset ; and the latter taking ad- 
vantage of some illegal proceedings of which the former 
was guilty, the council declared that Southampton had for- 
feited the great seal, that a fine should be imposed upon 
him, and that he shouiJ be confined to his own house du- 
ring pleasure. The removal of Southampton, however, 
did not satisfy the ambition of Somerset. He procured a 
patent from the young king, by which he entirely over- 
turned the will of Henry VIII., and produced a total revo- 
lution in the government. He named himself protector, 

18* 



i04 HISTORY OP ENGLANDo 

with full regal power, and appointed a council, consisting 
of all the former counsellors, and all the executors, except 
Southampton, reserving a power of naming any other coun- 
sellors at pleasure, and of consulting with such only as he 
thought proper. The protector and his council were like- 
wise empowered to act at discretion, and to execute what- 
ever they deemed for the public service, without incurring 
any penalty or forfeiture whatsoever. 

Somerset had long been regarded as a secret partisan 
of the reformers ; and he took care that all persons intrus- 
ted with the king's education should be attached to the 
same principles. In his schemes for advancing the refor- 
mation, he had always recourse to the counsels of Cran- 
mer, who, being a man of moderation and prudence, was 
averse to all violent changes. A visitation was made of 
all the dioceses in England, by a mixture of clergy and 
laity ; and the chief purport of their instructions was, be- 
sides correcting immoralities and irregularities in the cler- 
gy, to abolish the ancient superstitions, and to bring the 
♦discipline and worship somewhat nearer the practice of the 
reformed churches. The person that opposed, with great- 
est authority, these advances towards reformation, was 
Gardiner, bishop of Worcester, who, though he had not 
obtained a place in the council of regency, on account of 
late disgusts which he had given to Henry, was entitled by 
his age, experience, and capacity, to the highest trust and 
confidence of his party. He represented the perils of 
perpetual innovations, and the necessity of adhering to 
some system. For this freedom he was sent to the Fleet- 
prison, and treated with some severity. 

In Scotland, one Wishart, a gentleman by birth, and 
celebrated for the purity of his morals, and his extensive 
learning, employed himself with great success in preaching 
against the ancient superstitions, Beaton, the cardinal, pri- 
mate, resolving to strike terror into all other innovators, by 
the punishment of so distinguished a preacher, caused him 
to be arrested. The unhappy man was condemned to the 
fiames for heresy, and suffered with the usual patience. 
The disciples of this martyr, enraged at the cruel execu- 
tion, formed a conspiracy against the cardinal, who was 
assassinated soon after the death of Wishart. The assas- 
sins, being re-enforced by their friends, to the number of a 
hundred and forty persons, prepared themselves for the 



EDWARD VI. 205 

defence of the cardinal's palace, and craved the assistance 
of Henry, who promised to take them under his protec- 
tion. 

To fulfil this promise, and to execute the project which 
the late king had recommended with his dying breath, the 
protector levied an army of eighteen thousand men, with 
which he invaded Scotland. The Scottish army, double 
in number to that of the English, posted themselves on ad- 
vantageous ground, guarded by the banks of the Eske, a- 
bout four miles from Edinburgh. Having reconnoitered 
their camp, Somerset found it difficult to make an attempt 
upon it with any probability of success. He wrote, there- 
fore, to Arran, the governour of Scotland, and offered to 
evacuate the kingdom, provided the Scots would stipulate 
not to contract the queen to any foreign prmce, but to de- 
tain her at home till she reached the age of choosing a 
husband for herself. The Scots rejected the demand, and 
quitting their camp, advanced into the plain, with the 
hope of cutting off the retreat of the English. Somer- 
set, pleased to behold this movement of the Scottish army, 
ranged his troops in order of battle. The Scots were de- 
feated with the loss of about t-n thousand slain, and fif- 
teen hundred taken prisoners ; while not more than two 
hundred of the Enghsh fell in this engagement. This 
action was called the battle of Pinkney,from a nobleman's 
seat of that name in the neighbourhood. 

Somerset was desirous of returning to England, where 
he heard that some counsellors, and even his own brother, 
the admiral, were carrying on cabals against his authority. 
On his arrival, he summoned a parhament, in which all 
laws were repealed that extended the crime of trea- 
son beyond the statute of the twenty-fifth of Edward . '' 
HT. ; all laws enacted during the late reign extend- 
ing the crime of felony ; all the former laws against Lollardy 
or heresy, together with the statute of the six articles. By 
these and other appeals, some dawn, both of civil and reh- 
gious liberty, began to appear to the people. Heresy, how- 
ever, was still a capital crime by the common law, and was 
subjected to the penalty of burning. Only there remained 
no precise standard by which that crime could be defined 
or determined ; a circumstance which might either be ad- 
vantageous or hurtful to public security, according to the 
disposition of the judges. 



206 HISTORY OF ENGLAN©.' 

The greater the progress that was made towards a r6" 
formation in England, the further did the protector find 
himself from all prospect of completing the union with 
Scotland ; and the queen-dowager, as well as the clergy^ 
became the more averse to all alliance with a nation which 
had so far departed from ancient principles. The hostile 
attempts, too, which the late king and the protector had 
made against Scotland, had served only to inspire the 
Scottish people with the utmost aversion to an union. 
The queen-dowager, finding these sentiments prevail, 
called a parliament, in which it was proposed that the 
young queen should be sent to France. Accordingly, the 
governor received a pension of twelve thousand livres a 
year, and the title of duke of Chatelrault ; and Mary em- 
barked on board some French vessels, arrived at Brest, 
whence she was conducted to Paris, and soon after be- 
trothed to the dauphin. 

The mortification of Somerset, on the failure of his pro- 
ject for an union with Scotland, was increased by the in- 
trigues of his own family. His brother, lord Seymour, a 
man of insatiable ambition and great abilities, by his flat- 
tery and address, had so insinuated iiimself into the good 
graces of the queen dowager, that, forgetting her usual 
prudence and decency, she married him so immediately 
upon the demise of the late king, that had she soon proved 
pregnant, it might have been doubtful to which husband 
the child belonged. 1 he credit and riches of this alliance 
supported the ambition of the admiral ; but gave umbrage 
to the duchess of Somerset, who, uneasy that the younger 
brother's wife should have the precedency, employed all 
her influence with her husband, first to create, then to 
widen, the breach between the two' brothers. 

The first attempt of the admiral was a direct attack upon 
his brother's authority, by procuring from the young king 
a letter to the parliament, desiring that Seymour might be 
appointed his governor ; but, finding himself prevented in 
his design by the parliament, he was obliged to submit, 
and to desire a reconciliation with his brother. His am- 
bition, however, could not be easily checked. His spouse, 
the queen-dowager, died in child-bed ; but so far from re- 
garding this event as an obstacle to his aspiring views, he 
made his addresses to the lady Elizabeth ; and as Henry 



EDWARD VI. 207 

had excluded his daughters from all hopes of succession, 
if they married without the consent of his executor, which 
Seymour could never hope to obtain, he is supposed to 
have aimed at efiecting his purpose by the most criminal 
means. He had brought over to his party many of the 
principal nobihty ; and it was supposed, that he could on 
occasion muster an array of ten thousand men, composed 
of his servants, tenaats, and retainers. He had already 
provided arms for their use ; and having engaged in his in- 
terests sir John Sharington, a corrupt man, master of the 
mint at Bristol, he flattered himself that money would not 
be wanting. Somerset was well apprised of all these alarm- 
ing circumstginces, and endeavoured by the most friendly 
expedients, hy intreaty, reason, and even by heaping new 
favours upon his brother, to make him desist from his dan- 
gerous council^ ; but finding all endeavours ineffectual, 
he was easily persuaded, by the earl of Warwick, to de- 
prive him of the ofiice of admiral, and to commit him to 
the Tower. 

Some of his accomplices were also taken into custody ; 
and three privy counsellors being sent to examine them, 
made a report that they had met with very full and impor- 
tant discoveries. Yet still the protector suspended the 
blow, and showed a reluctance to ruin his brother ; but as 
Seymour made no other answer to all his friendly offers, 
than menaces and defiances, he ordered a charge to be 
drawn up against him, consisting of thirty-three articles, 
and the whole to be laid before the privy council. It is 
pretended, that every particular was so incontestibly pro- 
ved, both by witnesses and his own hand-writing, that 
there was no room for doubt ; yet did the council think 
proper to go in a body to the Tower, in order more fully 
to examine the prisoner. We shall indeed conclude, if we 
carefully examine the charge, that many of the articles 
were general, and scarcely capable of any proof; many 
of them, if true, susceptible of a more favourable interpre- 
tation ; and that though, on the whole, Seymour appears 
to have been a dangerous subject, he had not advanced 
far in those treasonable projects imputed to him. 

But the adminisistration had at that time an easy instru- 
ment of vengeance in the parliament ; and a session being 
held, Seymour was proceeded against by bill of attainder. 



5208 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

The bill was passed in the upper house without undergo- 
ing any objections ; but in the House of Commons, some 
members objected against the whole method of proceeding 
by bill of attainder passed in absence, and insisted that 
a formal trial should be given to every man before his con- 
demnation. At length, however, the bill passed ; and 
the- sentence was soon after executed, and the pri- 
1549 ^^^^^ beheaded on Tower-hill. The warrant was 
* signed by Somerset himself, who was much blamed 
on account of the violence of these proceedings. 

In this session, the translation of the liturgy, as well as 
of the scriptures, into the vulgar tongue, was established 
by parliament ; and an act was also passed, permitting 
the marriage of priests, who had hitherto been enjoined 
celibacy. 

Scarcely any institution can be considered less favour- 
able to the interests of mankind than that of monks and 
friars. The convents, however, were a sure resource to 
the poor and indigent ; and though the alms which they 
distributed gave too much encouragement to idleness, yet 
the suppression of them was felt and regretted. These 
grievances were at this time heightened by other causes. 
The arts of manufacture were much more advanced in 
other European countries than in England ; and even in 
England these arts had made greater progress than the 
knowledge of agriculture. A great demand arose for wool 
both abroad and at home : pasturage was found more pro- 
fitable than unskilful tillage ; whole estates were laid 
waste by enclosures ; and a decay of people, as well as a 
diminution of the former plenty, was remarked in the 
kingdom. 

The general increase also of gold and silver in Europe, 
after the discovery of the West-Indies, had a tendency to in- 
flame these complaints. The growing demand in the more 
commercial countries had heightened every where the 
price of commodities, which could easily be transported 
thither ; but in England, the labour of men, who could 
not so easily change their habitation, still remained nearly 
at the ancient rates ; and the poor complained that they 
could no longer gain a subsistence by their industry ; 
which, as it was difficult for Ihem to shake off their former 
habits of indolence, they were, in fact, unwilling to employ, 



EDWARD VI. 20% 

Loud complaints were heard in every part of England ; 
and these were succeeded by acts of open violence. The 
rising was simultaneous, as if a general conspiracy had 
been formed by the people. The commotions in Hamp- 
shire, Sussex, Kent, and some other counties, were quiet- 
ed by mild expedients ; but the disorders in Devonshire 
and Norfolk threatened more dangerous consequences. In 
Devonshire, the rebels, who amounted to ten thousand, 
were attacked and defeated near Exeter by lord Russel, 
who had been sent to disperse them. In Norfolk, the in- 
surgents amounted to twenty thousand, and were headed 
by one Ket, a tanner. The protector affected popularity, 
and cared not to appear in person against the rebels ; he 
therefore sent the earl of Warwick, at the head of six 
thousand men, levied for the wars against Scotland ; by 
which means he afforded his mortal enemy an opportunity 
of increasing his reputation and character. Warwick, 
having tried some skirmishes with the rebels, at last made 
a general attack upon them, and put them to flight. Two 
thousand fell in the action and pursuit ; and Ket was hang- 
ed at Norwich. 

But though these insurrections were quickly subdued, 
they were attended with serious consequences to the for- 
eign interests of the nation. The Scots took the fortress 
of Broughty, and compelled the English to evacuate Had- 
dington ; and the French recovered all the conquests 
which Henry had made on the continent, with the excep- 
tion of Boulogne. 

Somerset, despairing of the assistance of the emperor, 
was inclined to conclude a peace with France and Scot- 
land ; but his enemies in the council opposed all proposals 
for a pacification. Lord St. John, president of the coun- 
cil, the earls of Warwick, Soutliampton, and Arundel, 
with five members more met at Ely-house ; and assuming 
to themselves the whole power of the council, began to act 
independently of the protector, whom they represented as 
the author of every public grievance and misfortune. They 
wrote letters to the chief nobility and gentry of England, 
informing them of the present measures, and requiring 
their assistance ; they sent for the mayor and aldermen of 
London, and enjoined them to obey their order, w thout 
regard to any contrary orders which they might receive 



210 I HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

from the duke of Somerset. They laid the same injunc- 
tions on the lieutenant of the Tower, who expressed his 
resolution to comply with them. Other lords and gentle- 
men joined the malcontent counsellors. 

Somerset was sent to the Tower ; and articles of indict- 
ment were preferred against him. He was prevailed on 
to confess on his knees, before the council, all the arti- 
cles of charge against him ; and he even subscribed this 
confession. The paper was given into parliament, who, 
after sending a committee to examine him, and hear him 
acknowledge it to be genuine, passed a vote by which they 
deprived him of all his offices, and fined him two thousand 
pounds a-year in land. Lord St. John was created trea- 
surer in his place, and Warwick earl-marshal. The pro- 
secution against him was carried no farther ; and his fine 
was remitted by the king. Warwick, thinking that he 
was now sufficiently humbled, re-admitted him into the 
council, and even agreed to an alliance between their 
families, by the marriage of his own son, lord Dudley, 
with the lady Jane Seymour, daughter of Somerset. 
When Warwick and the council of regency began to ex- 
ercise their power, they found themselves embar- 
- ' * rassed by the wars with France and Scotland : and 
* therefore a pacification was eflTected, by which 
France bound herself to pay four hundred thousand crowns 
for the restitution of Boulogne ; and the English agreed 
to restore to Scotland Lauder and Douglas, and to demo- 
lish the fortresses of Koxburgh and Eymouth. 

In all other respects, than an intention of marrying the 
king to a daughter of the king of France, a violent 
^I_ * persecutor of the protestants, the council was 
steady in promoting the reformation. Several pre- 
lates still adhered to the Romish communion, and were 
deprived of their sees on pretence of disobedience. The 
princess Mary declared herself willing to endure death 
rather than relinquish the ancient rehgion ; and Edward, 
who had been educated in a violent abhorrence of the 
mass and other popish rites, lamented his sister's obstina- 
cy, and bewailed his fate in suffering her to continue in 
such an abominable mode of worship. 

Various schemes attempted by the council for promoting 
industry were likely to prove abortive, by ihe ambition of 



EDWARD VI. Sli 

Warwick. The last carl of Northumberland died without 
issue ; and as sir Thomas Piercy, his brother, had been 
attainted in the late reign, Warwick procured a grant of 
the estate, with the title of duke of Northumberland. 

Finding that Somerset, though degraded from his dig- ?* 
nity, still enjoyed a considerable share of popularity, 
Northumberland determined to ruin the man whom he re- 
garded as the chief obstacle to the attainment of his am- 
bition. The alliance between the two families had produ- 
ced no cordial union. Northumberland secretly gained 
many of the friends and servants of that unhappy noble- 
man ; and the unguarded Somerset often broke out into 
menacing expressions, which his treacherous confidants 
carried to his enemy. 

In one night, the duke of Somerset, lord Grey, David 
and John Seymour, Hammond and Neudigate, two of the 
duke's servants, sir Ralph Vane, and sir '> homas Palmer, 
were arrested and committed to custody. Next day the 
duchess of Somerset, with her favourites, and some others, 
were thrown into prison. Sir Thomas Palmer, who had 
all along acted as a spy upon Somerset, accused him of 
having formed a design of raising an insurrection in the 
north ; and that he had once projected the murder of 
Northumberland, Northampton, and Pembroke. Somerset 
was brought to his trial before the marquis of Winchester, 
created high-steward. Twenty-seven peers composed the 
jury, among whom were Northumberland, Pembroke, and 
Northampton, whom decency should have hindered from 
acting as judges in the trial of a man that appeared to be 
their capital enemy. Somerset was accused of high-trea- 
son on account of the projected insurrections, and of felony 
m laying a design to murder privy-counsellors. The proof 
seems to have been lame in regard to the treasonable part 
of the charge ; but the prisoner himself confessed that he 
had expressed his intention of murdering Northumberland 
and the other lords ; and he was accordingly condemned 
to death for felony. 

Care had been taken to prepossess the young king 
against his uncle ; and lest he should relent, no access 
was given to any of Somerset's friends. The prisoner was 
brought to the scaffold on Tower-hill, amidst great crowds 

19 



2!^ nisTORir or England. 

of spectators, who bore him such sincere kindness 

: ' o' that they entertained to the last moment the fond 

hopes of his pardon. Many of them rushed in to 

dip their handkerchiefs in his blood, which they long pre- 

%erved as a precious rehque ; and some of them soon after, 

when Northumberland met with a like doom, upbraided 

him with this cruelty, and displayed to him these symbols 

of his crime. 

The day after the execution of Somerset, a session of 
parliament was held, in which farther advances were 
made towards^'the establishment of the reformation. The 
new liturgy was authorized ; and penalties were enacted 
against ail those who absented themselves from public 
worship. 

Tonstal, bishop of Durham, less eminent for the dignity 
of his see, than for his own personal merit, had opposed, 
by his vote and authority, all innovations in religion ; but 
as soon as they were enacted, he had always submitted 
from a sense of duty, and had conformed to every theolo- 
gical system which had been established. The general 
regard paid to his character had protected him from any 
severe treatment during the administration of Somerset ; 
but when Northumberland gained the ascendant, he was 
thrown into prison ; and as that rapacious nobleman had 
formed a design of seizing the revenues of the see of Dur- 
ham, and of acquiring to himself a principality in the 
northern counties, he was resolved to deprive Tonstal of 
his bishopric. A bill of attamder, therefore, on pretence 
of misprision of treason, was introduced into the house of 
peers against that prelate, and passed with slight opposition ; 
but when the bill was sent down to the commons, they 
required that witnesses should be examined, that Tonstal 
should be allowed to defend himself, and that he should 
be confronted with his accusers. These demands being 
refused, they rejected the bill. 

This equity, so unusual in the parliament during that age, 
was ascribed by Northumberland to the prevalence of So- 
merset's faction; and it was therefore resolved to dissolve 
the parliament, and to summon a new one. This expe- 
dient answered Northumberland's expectations. As Ton- 
stal had, in the interval, been deprived of his bishopric iri 



EDWARD VI. 913 

an arbitrary manner, by the sentence of lay-commissioners 
appointed to try him, the see of Durham was by act of 
parliament divided into two bishoprics, which had certain 
portions of the revenue assigned them. The regalties of 
the see, which included the jurisdiction of a count pala» 
tine, were given by the king to Northumberland. 

The young prince showed a disposition to frugality ; but 
such had been the rapacity of the courtiers, that the crown 
owed about three hundred thousand pounds ; and as the 
king's health was declining very fast, the emptiness of the 
exchequer was an obstacle to the ambitious projects of 
Northumberland. That nobleman represented to Edward, 
that his two sisters, Mary and Elizabeth, had been declared 
illegitimate by act of parliament ; that the queen of 
Scots stood excluded by the late king's will ; that the cer- 
tain consequence of his sister Mary's succession, or that 
of the queen of Scots, was the abolition of the protestant 
religion ; that the succession next devolved on the mar- 
chioness of Dorset, elder daughter of the French queen, 
and the duke of Suffolk ; that the next heir of the mar- 
chioness was the lady Jane Grey, a lady of the most ami- 
able character, accomplished by the best education, both in 
literature and religion, and every way worthy of a crov/n ; 
and that even if her title by blood were doubtful, which 
there was no just reason to pretend, the king was possessed 
of the same power that his father enjoyed, and might leave 
her the crown by letters patent. These reasonings made 
impression on the young prince ; and, above all, his zea- 
lous attachment to the protestant religion made him ap- 
prehend the consequences, if so bigoted a cathohc as 
his sister Mary should succeed t j the throne. And though 
he bore an affection to the lady Elizabeth, who was liable 
to no such objection, means were found to persuade him 
that he could not exclude the one sister on account of ille- 
gitimacy, without also excluding the other. 

Northumberland, finding that his arguments were likely 
to operate on the king, began to prepare the other parts 
©f his scheme. Two sons of the duke of Suffolk, by a 
second marriage, having died this season of the sweating 
►sickness, that title was extinct ; and Northumberland en- 
gaged the king to bestow it on the marquis of Dorset. By 
means of this favour, and of others which he conferred 
ypon him, he persuaded the new duke of Suffolk and the 



2|4 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

duchess to give their daughter, the lady Jane, in marriage 
to his fourth son, the lord Guildford Dudley. In order to 
fortify himself by farther alliances, he negotiated a mar- 
riage between the lady Catherine Grey, second daughter 
of Suffolk, and lord Herbert, eldest son of the earl of Pem- 
broke. He also married his own daughter to lord Hastings, 
eldest son of the earl of Huntingdon. These marriages 
were solemnized with great pomp and festivity ; and the 
people, who hated Northumberland, could not forbear ex- 
pressing their indignation at seeing such public demon- 
strations of joy during the languishing state of the young 
prince's health. 

The appearance of symptoms of a consumption in Ed- 
ward made Northumberland more intent on the execution 
of his project. He removed all except his own emissaries 
from about the king ; and by artifice he prevailed on the 
young prince to give his final consent to the settlement 
projected. Sir Edward Montague, chief-justice of the 
common pleas, sir John Baker, and sir Thomas Bromley, 
two judges, were accordingly summoned to the council, 
where, after the minutes of the intended deed were read 
to them, the king required them to draw them up in the 
form of letters-patent. They hesitated to obey, and desired 
time to consider. The more they reflected, the greater 
danger they found in compliance. The settlement of the 
crown by Henry the Eighth had been made in consequence 
of an act of parliament ; and by another act, passed in the 
beginning of this reign, it was declared treason in any of 
the heirs, their aiders or abettors, to change the order of 
succession. The judges pleaded these reasons before the 
council ; and they were reduced to great difficulties be- 
tween the dangers from the law, and those which arose 
from the violence of pres.ent power and authority. At last, 
Montague proposed an expedient, which satisfied both his 
brethren and the counsellors. He desired that a special 
commission should be passed by the king and council, re- 
quiring the judges to draw a patent for the new settlement 
of the crown ; and that a pardon should be immediately 
after granted them for any offence which they might have 
incurred by their compliance. 

When the patent was drawn, and brought to the bishop 
of Ely, chancellor, in order to have the great seal affixed 
to it, the prelate required that all the judges should pre- 



EDWARD V!. 215 

viousiy sign it. The chancellor next required, for his 
greater security, that all the privy-counsellors should set 
their hands to the patent ; and the intrigues of Northum- 
berland, or the fear of his violence, were so prevalent, that 
the counsellors complied with this demand. Cranmer 
alone hesitated during some time, but at last yielded to the 
earnest and pathetic intreatiesof the king. 

After this settlement wtis made, with so many inauspi- 
cious circumstances, Edward visibly declined every day ; 
and, to make matters worte, his physicians were dismissed 
by Northumberland's advice, and by an order of council ; 
and he was put into the hands of an ignorant woman, in a 
little time to restore him to his former state of health. 
After the use of her medicines, all his bad symptoms in- 
creased to the most vioicnt degree ; and he expired at 
Greenwich, in the sixieenth year of his age, and the 
seventh of his reign. 

The English historians dwell with pleasure on the ex- 
cellent qualities of this young prince ; whom the flattering 
promises of hope,-joined to many real virtues, had made 
an object of tender ati'ection to the public. He possessed 
mildness of disposition, with appHcationto study and busi- 
ness, and a capacity to learn and judge, with an attach- 
ment to equity and justice. 

During the reign ')f Edward, the princess Mary had 
been regarded as his lawful successor ; and though the 
protestants dreaded the efiects of her prejudices, 
the extreme hatred universally entertained against /rr^ 
the Dudleys, v,ho, it was foreseen, would reign 
under the name of Jane, was more than sufficient to coun- 
terbalance, even with that party, the attachment to reli- 
gion. This last attempt to violate the order of succession 
had displayed Northumberland's ambition and injustice in 
a full light. 

Northumberland, sensible of the opposition which he 
must expect, had carefully concealed the destination made 
by the king ; and, in order to bring the two princesses into 
his power, he had the art to engage the council, before 
Edward's death, to write to them in that prince's name, 
desiring their attendance, on pretence that his infirm 
state of health required the assistance of their counsel, 
and (he consolation of their company. Edward expired 

19* 



216 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

before their arrival ; but Northumberland, in order io 
make the princesses fall into the snare, kept the king's 
death still secret ; and the lady Mary had already reached 
Hoddesden, within half a day's journey of the court. Hap- 
pily, the earl of Arundel sent her private intelligence 
both of her brother's death and of the conspiracy formed 
against her. She immediately made haste to retire ; and 
she arrived at Framlingham in Suffolk, where she purposed 
to embark and escape to Flanders, in case she should find 
it impossible to defend her right of succession. She wrote 
letters to the nobility and most considerable gentry in 
every county of England, commanding them to assist 
her in the defence of her crown and person ; and she des- 
patched a message to the council, requiring them imme- 
diately to give orders for proclaiming her in London. 

Northumberland found that farther dissimulation was 
fruitless : and he approached the lady Jane with the re- 
spect due to a sovereign. Jane was in a great measure 
ignorant of the transactions which had taken place ; and 
it was with equal grief and surprise that she received the 
intelligence. She was a lady of an amiable person, an 
engaging disposition, and accomplished talents. Her heart, 
full of a passion for literature and the elegant arts, and of 
tenderness towards her husband, who was deserving of her 
affections, had no room for ambition. She even refused 
io accept the crown, and pleaded the right of the two 
princesses ; and she at last yielded rather to the intre&ties 
than the reasons of her father and husband. 

Orders were given by the council to proclaim Jane 
throughout the kingdom ; but these orders were executed 
only in London and the neighbourhood. In the mean 
time, the people of Suffolk paid their attendance on Mary. 
They were much attached to the reformed religion ; and 
as she assured them that she never meant to change the 
laws of Edward, they enlisted in her cause with zeal and af- 
fection. The nobility and gentry daily flocked to her. and 
brought her re-enforcements. Even a fleet which had been 
sent by Northumberland to lie off the coast of Suffolk, be- 
ing forced into Yarmouth by a storm, was engaged to de- 
clare in her favour. 

Northumberland, hitherto blinded by ambition, saw at 
last the danger gather round him, and knew not which 



MARY- 217 

way to tuvn. He had levied forces which were assembled 
at London ; but dreading the cabals of the courtiers and 
counsellors, whose compliance he knew had been entirely 
the result of fear or artifice, he was resoWed to keep near 
the person of the lady Jane, and send Suffolk to command 
the army. But the counsellors who wished to remove him, 
working on the filial tenderness of Jane, magnified to her 
the danger to which her father would be exposed ; and 
represented that Northumberland, who had gained repu- 
tation by formerly suppressing a rebellion in those parts, 
was more proper to command in that enterprise. The duke 
himself, who knew the slender capacity of Suffolk, began 
to think that he only was able to encounter the present 
danger ; and he agreed to take the command of the troops. 
The counsellors attended him at his departure with the 
highest protestations of attachment, and none more than 
Arundel, his mortal enemy. As he went along, he re- 
marked the disaffection of the people, which foreboded a 
fatal issue to his ambitious hopes. " Many," said he to 
lord Gray, " come out to look at us, but I find not one 
who cries God speed you !" 

The duke had no sooner reached St. Edmondsbury, 
than he found his army, which did not exceed six thousand 
men, too weak to encounter the queen's, which amounted 
to double the number. The counsellors immediately laid 
hold of the opportunity to free themselves from confine- 
ment, and to return to the duty which they owed to their 
lawful sovereign. The major and aldermen of London 
discovered great alacrity in obeying the orders they re- 
ceived to proclaim Mary. The people expressed their 
approbation by shouts of applause. Even Suffolk, who 
commanded in the Tower, finding resistance fruitless, 
opened the gates and declared for the queen. The lady 
Jane, after the vain pageantry of wearing a crown during 
ten days, returned to a private life with more satisfaction 
than she felt when the royalty was tendered to her ; and 
the naessengers who were sent to Northumberland with 
orders to lay down his arms, found that he had despaired 
of success, was deserted by all his followers, and had 
already proclaimed the queen, with exterior marks of joy 
and satisfaction. 

The people every where, on the queen's approach to 



21S HISTORY OJ* ENGLAND. 

London, gave sensible expressions of theii* loyalty and at- 
tachment ; and the lady Elizabeth met her at the head of 
a thousand horse. The queen gave orders for taking into 
custody the duke of Northumberland, who fell on his 
knees to the earl of Arundel, sent to arrest him, and ab- 
jectly begged his life. At the same time were committed 
the earl of Warwick, his eldest son ; lord A^itibrose and 
lord Henry Dudley, two of his younger son^ ; sir Andrew 
Dudley, his brother ; the marquis of Northampton, the 
earl of Huntingdon, sir Thomas Palmer, and sir John Gates. 
The queen afterwards confined the duke of Suffolk, 
lady Jane Gray, and lord Guilford Dudley. But Mary 
was desirous, in the beginning of her reign, to acquire 
popularity by the appearance of clemency ; and be- 
cause the counsellors pleaded constraint as an excuse 
for their treason, she ex<;ended her pardon to most of 
them. Suffolk owed his liberty to the contempt of his 
incapacity ; but Northumberland was too powerful and 
dangerous to be pardoned ; he pleaded guilty, and was 
executed. Sir Thomas Palmer and sir John Gates suffered 
with him. Sentence was also pronounced against the 
lady Jane and lord Guilford ; but the execution of it was 
at present deferred. 

The joy arising from the succession of the lawful heir 
did not prevent the people from feeling great anxiety con- 
cerning the state of religion ; and the nation dreaded not 
only the abolition, but the persecution of the established 
religion from the zeal of Mary ; and it was not long be- 
fore she discovered her intentions. Gardiner, Bonner,, 
Tonstal, and others, were reinstated in their sees ; and 
Cranmer, whose merits to the queen during the reign of 
Henry had been considerable, was tried for the part- which 
he had acted in concurring with lady Jane, and pronounced 
guilty of high-treason, llie execution of the sentence, 
however, did not follow : and Cranmer was reserved for a 
more cruel punishment. 

Several EngUsh protestants, foreseeing a persecution of 
the reformers, took shelter in foreign parts : and affairs 
wore a dismal aspect for the reformation. In opening the 
parliament, the court showed a contempt of the laws, by 
celebrating before the two houses a mass of the Holy Ghost 
in the Latin tongue, attended with all the ancient rites 



MARY. 219 

and ceremonies, though abolished by act of parliament. 
Taylor, bishop of Lincoln, having refused to kneel at this 
service, was severely handled, and was violently thrust 
out of the house. The queen, however, still retained the 
title of supreme head of the church of England ; and it 
was generally pretended, that the intention of the court 
was only to restore religion to the same condition in which 
it had been left by Henry ; but that the other abuses of 
popery, which were the most grievous to the nation, would 
never be revived. 

The first bill passed by the parliament was of apopulai' 
nature, and abolished every species of treason not con- 
tained in the statute of Edward III., and every species 
of felony that did not subsist before the first of Henry 
the Eighth. All the statutes of king Edward, with regard 
to rehgion, were repealed by one vote. The attainder of 
the duke of Norfolk was reversed ; and this act of justice 
was more reasonable, than the declaring of that attainder 
invalid, without farther authority. 

Notwithstanding the compliance of the two houses with 
the queen's inclinations, they were determined not to sub- 
mit tamely to her pleasure in the choice of a husband. 
There were three matches, concerning which it was sup- 
posed that Mary had deliberated after her accession. The 
first person proposed to her was the earl of Devonshire, 
whose person and address had visibly gained on the 
queen's affections ; but that nobleman neglected the ad- 
vantage, and attached himself to the lady Elizabeth, 
whose youth and agreeable conversation he preferred to 
all the power and grandeur of her sister : the second was 
cardinal Pole,. who had never taken priest's orders, but 
who, having contracted habits of study and retirement, 
was represented to the queen as unsuitable to the business 
of a court : the third was Phihp, son of the emperor 
Charles V.; and this aUiartte was not only desired by the 
emperor, but strenuously recommended by Gardiner, who 
had become prime-minister, and was readily embraced by 
Mary herself. The commons were alarmed that the queen 
had resolved to contract a foreign alliance ; and they sent 
a committee to remonstrate in strong terms against that 
dangerous measure. To prevent farther applications of the 
same kind, she thought proper to dissolve the parliament.. 



220 mSTORY OP ENGLAND. 

After the parliament was dismissed, the new laws with 
regard to religion were openly put in execution. The mass 
was every where re-established ; and marriage was de- 
clared to be incompatible with any spiritual office. This 
violent and sudden change of religion inspired the protes- 
tants with great discontent ; but the Spanish match 
1 ^fi4 ^^^ ^ point of more general concern, and diffused 
universal apprehensioos for the liberty and inde- 
pendence of the nation. To obviate all clamour, the 
articles of marriage were drawn as favourably as possible 
for the interest and security, and even grandeur, of Eng- 
land. It was agreed that though Philip should have the 
title of king, the administration should be entirely in the 
queen ; that no foreigner should be capable of enjoying 
any office in the kingdom ; that no innovation should be 
made in the English laws, customs, and priviliges ; that 
Philip should not carry the queen abroad without her con- 
sent, nor any of her children without the consent of the 
nobility; that the male issue of this marriage should in- 
herit, together with England, both Burgundy and the Low 
Countries : and that if Don Carlos, Philip's son by his 
former marriage, should die, and his line be extinct, the 
queen's issue, whether maleor female, should inherit Spain, 
Sicily, Milan, and all the other dominions of Philip. 

These articles, however, gave no satisfaction ; and com- 
plaints were every where diffused that England would be- 
come a province,' and a province to a kingdom which 
usually exercised the most violent authority over all her 
dependent dominions. Some persons, more turbulent than 
the rest, formed a conspiracy to rise in arms, and declare 
against the queen's marriage with Philip. Sir Thomas 
Wyat purposed to raise Kent ; sir Peter Carew, Devon- 
shire ; and they engaged the duke of Suffolk, by the hopes 
of recovering the crown for the lady Jane, to attempt rais- 
ing the midland counties. Carew's rebelhon was soon 
suppressed : and he was obliged to fly into France. Suf- 
folk endeavoured to raise the people in the counties of 
Warwick and Leicester : but being closely pursued by the 
earl of Huntingdon, at the head of three hundred horse, 
he was taken, and carried prisoner to London. Wyat 
was at first more successful in his attempt ; and having 
published a declaration at Maidstone, in Kent, against the 



<:jueeii's evil counsellors, and against the Spanish match, 
the people began to flock to his standard. The duke of 
Norfolk, with sir Henry Jernegan, was sent against him, 
at the head of the guards and some other troops, reinforced 
with five hundred Londoners commanded by Bret. The 
Londoners, however, deserted to Wyat, and declared that 
they would not contribute to enslave their native country; 
and Norfolk, dreading the contagion of the example, im- 
mediately retreated with his troops, and took shelter in the 
city. 

After this proof of the dispositions of the people, espe- 
cially of the Londoners, who were mostly protestants, Wyat 
was encouraged to proceed : he led his forces to Southwark, 
but finding that the bridge was secured against him, 
and that the city was overawed, he marched up to King- 
ston, where he passed the river with four thousand men ; 
and returning towards London, hoped to encourage his 
partisans, who had engaged to declare for him. He had, 
however, imprudently wasted so much time, that the cri- 
tical season, on which all popular commotions depend, 
was entirely lost ; and his followers insensibly falling off, 
he was taken prisoner near Temple bar, and soon after 
executed, with about four hundred of his adherents. 

The lady Elizabeth had been, during some time, treated 
with great harshness by her sister. Mary seized the op- 
portunity of this rebellion : and hoping to involve Eliza- 
beth in some appearance of guilt, committed her to the 
Tower : but the princess made so good a defence before 
the council, who ex^amined her, that the queen found her- 
self under the necessity of releasing her. In order, how- 
ever, to send her out of the kingdom, a marriage was 
offered her with the duke of Savoy ; and when she de- 
clined the proposal, she was committed to custody under 
a strong guard at Woodstock. 

This rebellion proved fatal to the lady Jane Grey and 
lier husband. She was warned to prepare for death ; a 
doom which she had long expected, and which the inno- 
cence of her life, as well as the misfortunes to which she 
had been exposed, rendered nowise unwelcome to her. 
The queen's zeal, under colour of tender mercy to the 
prisoner's soul induced her to send divines who harassed 
i'er with perpetual disputation. The lady Jane, however-, 



222 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

had presence of mind, in those melancholy circumstances, 
not only to defend her religion by all the topics then in 
use, but also to write a letter to her sister in the Greek 
language ; in which, besides sending her a copy of the 
scriptures in that tongue, she exhorted her to maintain, 
in every fortune, alike steady perseverance. On the day 
of her execution, her husband, lord Guildford, desired 
permission to see her ; but she refused her consent, and 
informed him by a message, that the tenderness of their 
parting would overcome the fortitude of both, and would 
too much unbend their minds from that constancy which 
their approaching end required : their separation, she said, 
would be only for a moment ; and they would soon rejoin 
each other in a scene where their affections would be for 
ever united, and where death, disappointment, and mis- 
fortunes, could no longer have access to them, or disturb 
their eternal felicity. She^saw her husband led to execu- 
tion ; and having given him from the window some token 
of her remembrance, she waited with tranquillity till her 
own appointed hour should bring her to a like fate. She 
even saw his headless body carried back in a cart ; and 
found herself more confirmed, by the reports which she 
heard of the constancy of his end, than shaken by so tender 
and melancholy a spectacle. Sir John Gage, consta- 
ble of the Tower, when he led her to execution, desired 
her to bestow on him some small present, which he might 
keep as a perpetual memorial of her : she gave him her 
table-book, on which she had just written three sentences 
on seeing her husband's dead body ; one in Greek, another 
in Latin, a third in English. The purport of them was, 
that human justice was against his body, but divine mercy 
would be favourable to his soul ; that if her fault deserved 
punishment, her youth at least, and her imprudence, were 
w^orthy of excuse ; and that God and posterity, she trusted, 
would show her favour. On the scaffold she made a speech 
to the spectators, in which the mildness of her disposi- 
tion led her to take the blame wholly on herself, without 
uttering one complaint against the severity with which she 
had been treated ; and then, with a steady and serene 
countenance, she submitted to the stroke of death. 

The duke of Suffolk was tried and condemned, and soon 
after executed ; and the Tower and all the prisons were 



MARY. 223 

filled with nobility and gentry, whom their interest with 
the nation rendered objects of suspicion. The queen, 
finding that she was universally hated, determined to de- 
prive the people of resistance, by ordering general mus- 
ters, and directing the commissioners to seize their arms. 

The ministry hoped to find a compliant disposition in 
the new parliament, which was summoned to assemble ; 
and for the purpose of facilitating this object, the emperor 
distributed above four hundred thousand crowns in bribes 
and pensions among the members. Gardiner, the chan- 
cellor, opened the session by a speech, in which he ob- 
served, that in order to obviate the inconveniences which 
might arise from different pretenders, it was necessary to 
invest the queen, by law, with a power of disposing of the 
crown, and of appointing her successor. The parliament, 
however, who knew her extreme hatred to Elizabeth, and 
the probability of her making a will in her husband's fa- 
vour, and thereby rendering England for ever a province 
to the Spanish monarchy, refused to acquiesce in Gardi- 
ner's proposal ; and, the more effectually to cut off' Phil- 
ip's hopes, they passed a law, " that her majesty, as their 
only queen, should solely, and as a sole queen, enjoy the 
crown and sovereignty of her realms, with all the pre-em- 
inences, dignities, and rights thereto belonging, in as large 
and ample manner after her marriage, without any title or 
claim accruing to the prince of Spain, either as tenant by 
courtesy, or by any other means." 

The queen, finding the parliament less subservient than 
she wished, finished the session by dissolving them ; and 
she employed all her thoughts on receiving Don Phihp, 
whose arrival she hourly expected. She waited with the 
utmost impatience for the completion of the marriage ; and 
every obstacle was to her a source of anxiety and discon- 
tent. She complained of Philip's delays as affected ; and 
she could not conceal her vexation, that though she 
brought him a kingdom as her dowry, he treated her with 
such neglect, that he had never yet favoured her with a sin- 
gle letter. Her health, and even her understanding, were 
visibly hurt by this extreme impatience ; and she was 
struck with a new apprehension lest her person, impaired 
by time and blasted by sickness, should prove disagree- 
able to her future consort. Her glass discovered to her 

20 



224 /HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

how haggard she was become ; and when she remarked 
the decay of her beauty, she knew not whether she ought 
more to desire or apprehend the arrival of Phihp. 

At last, news was brought the queen of Philip's arrival 
at Southampton. A few days after they w^ere married at 
Westminster, and having made a pompous entry into Lon- 
don, she carried him to Windsor, the place in which they 
afterwards resided. The prince's behaviour was ill-cal- 
culated to remove the prejudices which the English nation 
had entertained against him. He was distant and reserved 
in his address ; and so entrenched himself in form and 
ceremony, that he was in a manner inaccessible ; but this 
circumstance rendered him the more acceptable to the 
queen, who desired to have no company but her husband's, 
and who was impatient when she met with any interrup- 
tion to her fondness. 

Mary soon found that Philip's ruhng passion was ambi- 
tion ; and that the only method of gratifying him, and 
securing his affections, was to render him master of Eng- 
land. For the purpose of obtaining this favourite object, 
she summoned a new parliament, in hopes of finding them 
entirely compliant ; but the hatred to the Spaniards still 
prevailed, and the queen failed in the endeavour to get 
her husband declared presumptive heir to the crown. That 
assembly, however, was more obsequious in regard to reli- 
gion : it had reversed the attainder of cardinal Pole, who 
had come over invested with legatine powers from the 
pope ; and who, after being introduced to the king and 
queen, invited the parliament to reconcile themselves and 
the kingdom to the apostohc see, from which they had 
been so long and so unhappily divided. This message was 
taken in good part ; and both houses voted an address to 
Phihp and Mary, acknowledging that they had been guilty 
of a most horrible defection from the true church ; and 
praying their majesties to intercede with the holy father 
for the absolution and forgiveness of their penitent sub- 
jects. The request was easily granted. The legate, in 
the name of his holiness, gave the parliament and kingdom 
absolution, freed them from all censures, and received 
them again into the bosom of the church. 

The queen's extreme desire of having issue made her 
fondly give credit to every appearance of pregnancy ; and 
when the legate was introduced to her, she fancied that she 



MARY. ^25 

felt the embryo stir in her womb. Great rejoicings were 
made on this occasion ; but the nation remained somewhat 
incredulous. The belief, however, of her pregnacy was 
upheld with all possible care ; and was one artifice by 
which Philip endeavoured to support his authority i«tthe 
kingdom. The parhament passed a law, which, in case of 
the queen's demise, appointed him protector during 
the minority ; and the king and queen, finding that ^'rrr 
they could obtain no farther concessions, came un- 
expectedly to Westminster and dissolved them. 

The success of Gardiner in governing the parliament, 
and engaging them to concur both in the Spanish match, 
and in the re-establishment of the ancient religion, had 
raised his character above that of Pole, who was regarded 
rather as a good man than a great minister. The latter 
was very sincere in his religious principles, and thought 
that no consideration of human policy ought ever to come 
in competition with the cathohc doctrines; whilst Gardiner, 
on the contrary, had always made his rehgion subservient 
to his schemes of safety or advancement. Yet the benevo- 
lent disposition of Pole led him to advise a toleration of the 
heretical tenets, which he highly blamed ; while the severe 
manners of Gardiner inclined him to support by persecu- 
tion that religion which in reality he regarded with great 
indifference. 

The arguments and views of Gardiner were more agree- 
able to the cruel bigotry of Mary and Philip ; and the 
scheme of toleration was entirely rejected. It was deter- 
mined to let loose the laws in their full vigour against the 
reformed religion ; and England was soon filled with scenes 
of horror, which have ever since rendered the catholic re- 
ligion the object of deserved detestation. 

Rogers, prebendary of St. Paul's, a man eminent in his 
party for virtue as well as for learning, was the first victim 
of the persecutors. This man, besides the care of his own 
preservation, lay under other powerful temptations to re- 
cant : he had a wife Whom he tenderly loved, and ten chil- 
dren ; yet such was his serenity after his condemnation, 
that the jailors, it is said, waked him from a sound sleep, 
when the hour of his execution approached. He had de- 
sired to see his wife before he died ; but Gardiner told 
him, that he was a priest, and could not possibly have a 
wife ; thus adding insult to cruelty. 



226 HISTORY OF ENGLAND^ 

Hooper, bishop of Gloucester, had been tried at the same 
time with Rogers ; but was sent to his own diocess to be 
executed. This circumstance was contrived to strike the 
greater terror into his flock ; but it was a source of conso- 
latipi to Hooper, who rejoiced in giving testimony by his 
death to that doctrine which he had formerly preached 
among them. When he was tied to the stake, a stool was 
set before him, and the queen's pardon laid upon it, which 
it was still in his power to merit by a recantation : but he 
ordered it to be removed ; and cheerfully prepared himself 
for that dreadful punishment to which he was sentenced. 
He suffered it in its full severity : the wind, which was vio- 
lent, blew the flame of the reeds from his body ; the fag- 
gots were green, and did not kindle easily ; all his lower 
parts were consumed before his vitals were attacked ; but 
he was heard to pray, and to exhort the people, till his 
tongue, swollen with the violence of his agony, could no 
longer permit him utterance. 

Sanders was burnt at Coventry : a pardon was also 
offered him ; but he rejected it, and embraced the stake, 
saying, " Welcome the cross of Christ ! welcome everlast- 
ing life !" Taylor, parson of Hadley, was punished by fire 
in that place, surrounded by his former friends and pa- 
rishioners. Philpot, archdeacon of Winchester, was con- 
demned to the flames, and suffered at Smithfield. The im- 
puted crime for which almost all the protestants were con- 
demned, was their refusal to acknowledge the doctrine of 
ihe real presence. 

Gardiner, who had vainly expected that a few examples 
would strike a terror into the reformers, finding the work 
daily multiply upon him, devolved the invidious office on 
others, chiefly on Bonner, a man of profligate manners, 
and of a brutal character, who seemed to rejoice in the tor- 
ments of the unhappy sufferers. He sometimes whipped 
the prisoners with his own hands, till he was tired with the 
violence of the exercise : he tore out the beard of a weaver 
who refused to relinquish his religion ; and that he might 
give him a specimen of burning, he held his hand to the 
candle till the sinews and veins shrunk and burst. 

It is impossible to enumerate in this work all the cruel- 
ties practised in England during the three years that these 
persecutions lasted. Ferrar, bishop of St. David's, was 
burned in his own diocess. Ridley, bishop of Londonj and 



MARY. 2^7 

Latimer, formerly bishop of Worcester, two prelates cele- 
brated for learning and virtue, perished together in the 
same flames at Oxford, and supported each other's con- 
stancy by their mutual exhortations. Latimer, when tied 
to the stake, called to his companion, " Be of good cheer, 
brother ; we shall this day kindle such a torch in England, 
as, I trust in God, shall never be extinguished." 

The tender sex itself, as they have commonly greater 
propensity to religion, produced many examples of the 
most inflexible courage in supporting the profession of their 
faith against all the persecutors. One execution in par- 
ticular was attended with circumstances which, even at that 
time, excited astonishment by reason of their unusual bar- 
barity. A woman in Guernsey, being near the time of 
her labour, when brought to the stake was thrown into such 
agitation by the torture that her belly burst, and she was 
dehvered in the midst of the flames. One of the guards 
immediately snatched the infant from the fire, and at- 
tempted to save it; but a magistrate, who stood by, ordered 
it to be thrown back, being determined, he said, that 
nothing should survive which sprang from so obstinate and 
heretical a parent. 

These barbarities, committed in the name of a religion 
which abjures them, excited horror in the nation, and ren- 
dered the Spanish government daily more odious. Philip, 
sensible of the hatred which he incurred, ordered his con- 
fessor to deliver, in his presence, a sermon in favour of 
toleration ; but this shallow artifice failed of the desired 
effect, and the court threw off" the mask. An attempt was 
made to introduce the inquisition into England ; and a 
commission was appointed, by authority of the queen's pre- 
rogative, more effectually to extirpate heresy; but the court 
devised a more expeditious and summary method of sup- 
porting orthodoxy than even the inquisition itself. They 
issued a proclamation against l^oks of heresy, treason, and 
sedition, declaring, " that whosoever had any of these 
books, and did not presently burn them, without reading 
them, or showing them to any other person, should be 
esteemed rebels ; and without any farther delay be execu- 
ted by martial law." 

In the space of three years, it is computed, that two 
hundred and seventy-seven persons were brought to the 

20* 



228 HISTORY OF ENGLANB. 

stake ; besides those who were punished by imprisonment , 
fines, and confiscations. Among those who suffered by 
fire were five bishops, twenty-one clergymen, eight lay gen- 
tlemen, eighty-four tradesmen, one hundred husbandmen, 
servants, and labourers, fifty-five women, and four children. 

The burning of heretics was a very natural method of 
reconciling the kingdom to the Romish communion ; and 
little solicitation was requisite to engagethe pope to receive 
the strayed flock. However, Paul IV., who now filled the 
papal chair, insisted that the property and possessions of the 
church should be restored to the uttermost farthing. This 
demand had little influence on the nation, but operated 
powerfully on the queen, who was determined, in order to 
ease her conscience, to restore all the church-lands, which 
were still in the possession of the crown ; and the more to 
display her zeal, she erected anew some convents and 
monasteries, notwithstanding the low condition of the ex- 
chequer. When this measure was debated in council, some 
members objected, that if such a considerable part of the 
revenue were dismembered, the dignity of the crown would 
fall to decay : but the queen replied, that she preferred the 
salvation of her soul to ten such kingdoms as England. 

Persecution had now become extremely odious to the 
nation : and the effects of the public discontent appeared 
in the new parliament summoned to meet at Westminster. 
A bill v/as passed, restoring to the church the tenths and 
first-fruits, and all the impropriations which remained in 
the hands of the crown ; but though this matter directly 
concerned none but the queen herself,great opposition was 
made to the bill in the house of commons. An application 
being made for a subsidy during two years, and for two 
fifteenths, the latter was refused by the commons ; and 
many members said, that while the crown was thus des- 
poihng itself of its revenue, it was in vain to bestow riches 
upon it. The queen, finding the intractable humour of 
the commons, thought proper to dissolve the parliament. 

The spirit of opposition which prevailed in parliament, 
was the more vexatious to Mary, as Philip, tired of her im- 
poi^nate love and jealousy, and finding his authority 
extremely limited in England, had left her, and gone over 
to Flanders. The indifference and neglect of her husband, 
added to the disappointment in her imagined pregnancy, 



MARY. '329 

thvew her into a deep melancholy ; and she gave vent to 
her spleen,by daily enforcing the persecutions against the 
protestants, and even by expressions of rage against all 
lier subjects, by whom she knew herself to be hated, and 
whose opposition, in refusing an entire compliance with 
PhiUp, was the cause, she believed, why he had alienated 
his affections from her, and afforded her so little of his 
company. The less return her love met with, the more it 
increased ; and she passed most of her time in solitude, 
where she gave vent to her passion, either in tears, or in 
writing fond epistles to Phihp, who seldom returned her 
any answer, and scarcely deigned to pretend any sentiment 
of love, or even of gratitude towards her. The chief part 
of government to which she attended was the extorting of 
money from her people, in order to satisfy his demands ; 
and as the parliament had granted her but a scanty sup- 
ply, she had recourse to expedients very violent and irre- 
gular. She levied loans and exacted contributions with 
the greatest rapacity ; and this at a time when she was at 
peace with all the. world, and had no other occasion for 
money than to supply the demands of a husband, who at- 
tended only to his own convenience, and showed himself 
indifferent to her interests. 

Philip was now become master of all the wealth of the 
new world, and of the richest and most extensive 
dominions in Europe, by the voluntary resignation i're,a 
of the emperor Charles V., who, though still in the 
vigour of his age, had taken a disgust to the world, and 
was determined to seek, in the tranquillity of retreat, for 
that happiness which he had in vain pursued amidst the 
tumults of war, and the restless projects of ambition. 
Phihp, finding himself threatened with a war with France, 
was desirous of embarking England in the quarrel ; and 
though the queen was extremely averse to the measure, 
yet she was incapable of resisting her husband's importu- 
nity. But she had little weight with her council, and still less 
with hci people ; and anew act of barbarity, of which she 
was guilty, rendered her government extremely unpopular. 

Cranmer had long been detained prisoner ; but the 
queen now determined to bring him to punishment ; and 
in order the more fully to satiate her vengeance, she re- 
solved to punish him for heresy, rather than foi treason. 



230 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

He was cited by the pope to stand his trial at Rome ; antl 
though he was known to be kept in close custody at Ox- 
ford, he was, upon his not appearing, condemned as con- 
tumacious. Bonner, bishop of London, and Thirleby of 
Ely, were sent to degrade him, and the former executed the 
melancholy ceremony with all the joy and exultation which 
suited his savage nature. The implacable spirit of the queen, 
not satisfied with the execution of that dreadful sentence to 
which he was condemned, prompted her to seek the ruin of 
his honour, and the infamy of his name. Persons were em- 
ployed to attack him by flattery, insinuation, and address ; 
by representing the dignities to which his character still 
entitled him, if he would merit them by a recantation ; and 
by giving hopes of long enjoying those powerful friends 
whom his beneficent disposition had attached to him du- 
ring the course of his prosperity. Overcome by the fond 
love of life, 'and terrified by the prospect of those tortures 
which awaited him, he allowed, in an unguarded hour, the 
sentiments of nature to prevail over his resolution, and 
agreed to subscribe the doctrines of the papal supremacy, 
and of the real presence. The court, equally perfidious 
and cruel, were determined that his recantation should 
avail him nothing ; and they sent him orders that he should 
be required to acknowledge his errors in church before the 
whole people, and that he should thence be immediately 
carried to execution. Whether Cranmer had received a 
secret intimation of their design, or had repented of his 
weakness, he surprised the audience by a contrary decla- 
ration. He said, that he was well apprized of the obedience 
which he owed to his sovereign and the laws ; but this 
duty extended no farther than to submit patiently to their 
commands, and to bear, without resistance, whatever hard- 
ships they should impose upon him ; that a superior duty, 
the duty which he owed to his Maker, obliged him to speak 
truth on all occasions, and not relinquish, by a base 
denial, the holy doctrine which the Supreme Being had 
revealed to mankind : that there was one miscarriage in 
his life, of which, above all others, he severely repented ; 
the insincere declaration of faith to which he had the weak- 
ness to consent, and which the fear of death alone had 
extorted from him : that he took this opportunity of ato 
riining for his error, by a sincere and open recantation ; and 



MARY. 231 

\\'as vviiling ta seal with his blood, that doctrine which he 
firmly believed to be communicated from heaven ; and 
that, as his hand had erred, by betraying his heart, it 
should fifst be punished, by a severe but just doom, and 
should first pay the forfeit of its otTences. He was thence 
led to the stake, amidst the insults of the catholics ; and 
having now summoned up all the force of his mind, he 
bore their scorn, as well as the torture of his punishment, 
with singular fortitude. He stretched out his hand, and, 
without betrayiiig, either by his countenace or motions, 
the least sign of weakness, or even of feeling, he held it in 
the flames till it was entirely consumed. His thoughts 
seemed wholly occupied with reflections on his former 
fault, and he called aloud several times, " This hand has 
offended." Satisfied v/ith that atonement, he then disco- 
vered a serenity in his countenance ; and when the fire 
attacked his body, he seemed to be quite insensible of his 
outward sufferings, and by the force of hope and resolu- 
tion, to have collected his mind altogether within itself, 
and to repel the fury of the flames. It is pretended, that 
after his body was consumed, his heart v/as found entire 
and untouched amidst the ashes ; an event which, as it 
was the emblem of his constancy, was fondly believed by 
the zealous protestants. Cranmer was undoubtedly a man 
of great merit. He was adorned with candour, sincerity, 
and beneficence, and all those virtues which were fitted to 
render him useful and amiable in society. His moral qua- 
lities procured him universal respect ; and his learning and 
capacity entitled him to the esteem of mankind. 

After Cranmer's death, cardinal Pole was installed in 
the see of Canterbury, and placed at the head of the church 
of England ; but, though he was averse to all sanguinary 
methods of converting heretics, his authority was too 
weak to oppose the barbarous and bigoted disposition of 
the queen and her counsellors. In order to engage the 
nation in the war between France and Spain, Phihp had 
come to London ; and he told the queen, that if he were 
not gratified in this request, he would never more 
set foot in England. After employing menaces |rr« 
and artifices, Mary's importunity prevailed ; war 
was declared against France ; and preparations were 
made for invading that kingdom. 



332 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

The revenue of England at that time little exceeded 
three hundred thousand pounds ; and in order to support 
the war, the queen levied money by the most arbitrary and 
violent methods. She obliged the city of London to sup- 
ply her with sixty thousand pounds on her husband's en- 
try ; she levied, before the legal time, the second year's 
subsidy voted by parliament ; she issued anew many 
privy seals, by which she procured loans from the people ; 
and having equipped a fleet, which she could not victual > 
by reason of the dearness of provisions, she seized all the 
corn she could find in Suffolk and Norfolk, without paying 
any price to the owners. By all these expedients, assisted 
by the power of pressing, she levied an army of ten thou- 
sand men, which she sent over to the Low Countries, under 
the command of the earl of Pembroke. Meanwhile, in 
order to prevent any disturbance at home, many of the 
most considerable gentry were thrown into the Tower ; 
and lest they should be known, they either were carried 
thither in the night-time, or were hood-winked and muffled 
by the guards who conducted them. 

The king of Spain's army, after the junction of the Eng- 
lish, amounted to sixty thousand men ; and the duke of 
Savoy, who commanded it, suddenly invested St. Quintin. 
The constable, Montmorency, approached the place with 
his w^hole army ; but being attacked by the besiegers, he 
was totally defeated and made prisoner. By this event, 
the whole kingdom of France was thrown into consterna- 
tion ; but the cautious temper of Philip allowed the French 
time to recover their spirits, and no other enterprise of 
moment followed this decisive victory. 

Calais, which the English had held above two hundred 
years, was unexpectedly invested, and attacked by 

*_ * the duke of Guise, who in eight days, during the 
depth of winter, made himself master of this strong 
fortress, though it had cost Edward IIL a siege of eleven 
months, at the head of a numerous army, which had that 
very year been victorious in the battle of Cressy. The 
loss of this valuable fortress occasioned loud murmurs 
among the English, who complained of the improvidence 
of the queen and her council. 

The Scots, excited by the French, began to infest the 
borders ; and the Enghsh were obliged to look to their 



MARY. 233 

defence at home, rather than think of foreign conquests. 
In order to connect Scotland more closely with France, 
and to increase the influence of the latter kingdom, it was 
thought proper by Henry to celebrate the marriage be- 
tween the young queen and the dauphin ; and a deputa- 
tion was sent by the Scottish parliament to assist at the 
ceremony, and to settle the terms of the contract. 

This close alliance between France and Scotland threat- 
ened very nearly the repose and security of Mary ; and it 
was foreseen, that though the factions and disorders which 
might naturally be expected in the Scottish government, 
during the absence of the sovereign, would make its power 
less formidable, that kingdom would at least aftbrd to the 
French a means of invading England. The queen, there- 
fore, found it necessary to summon a parhament, and to 
demand of them some supphes to her exhausted exche- 
quer. The commons, without making any reflections on 
the past exactions and extortions, voted, besides a fif- 
teenth, a subsidy of four shillings in the pound on land, 
and two shillings and eight pence on goods. The parlia- 
ment also passed an act, confirming all the sales and grants 
of crown-lands, which either were already made by the 
queen, or should be made during the seven ensuing years. 

During this whole reign, the nation were under great 
apprehensions with regard not only to the succession, but 
the life of the lady Elizabeth. The violent hatred which 
the queen bore to her appeared on every occasion ; and it 
required all the prudence of that princess to prevent the 
effects of Mary's jealous disposition. Being asked her 
opinion of the real presence, the net for catching the pro- 
testants, she is said to have replied as follows ; 

" Christ was the word that spake it, 
He took the bread and brake it; 
And what the word did make it, 
That I believe and take it." 

The money granted by parliament enabled the queen to 
fit out a fleet of a hundred and forty sail, which being 
joined by thirty Flemish ships, and carrying six thousand 
land forces on board, was sent to make an attempt on the 
coast of Brittany. Negotiations for peace were entered 
into between the kings of France and Spain ; and the ar- 
mies in Picardy were put into winter quarters till the 



234 HISTORY OF ENGLANB. 

princes should come to some agreement. Among «tlie]; 
conditions, Henry demanded the restitution of Navarre to 
its lawful owner ; Philip, that of Calais and its territory 
to England ; but in the midst of these negotiations, news 
arrived of Mary's death. She had long been in a decli- 
ning state of health ; and the loss of Calais, and the 
- '' absence of her husband, brought on a lingering 
fever, of which she died, after a short and inglori- 
ous reign of five years, four months, and eleven days. 

Mary possessed few qualities either estimable or amia- 
ble ; and her person was as little engaging as her beha- 
viour and address. Obstinacy, bigotry, violence, cruelty, 
malignity, revenge and tyranny, the fruits of bad temper,, 
and a narrow understanding, attach to her character ; and 
amidst this complication of vices, we can find no other vir- 
tue than that of sincerity. 

Under her reign, the naval power of England was so in- 
considerable, that fourteen thousand pounds being ordered 
to the repairing and victualling of the fleet, it was compu- 
ted that ten thousand pounds a year would afterwards an- 
swer all necessary charges. 



CHAP. XH. 

The reign of Elizabeth. 

Elizabeth had displayed great prudence during the 
reign of her sister ; and as men were sensible of the im- 
minent danger to which she was exposed, compassion to- 
wards her situation, and concern for her safety, had ren- 
dered her the favourite of the nation. A parliament had 

been assembled a few days before Mary's death ; 
^ ^^' and when that event was notified to them, scarcely 

an interval of regret appeared : the two houses 
immediately resounded with the joyful acclamations of 
*' God save queen Elizabeth ; long and happily may she 
reign!" The people, less actuated by faction, expressed 
a joy still more general and sincere. With a prudence 
and magnanimity truly laudable, Elizabeth buried all of- 
fences in oblivion ; but when the bishops came to make 
obeisance to her, she turned away from Bonner, as from a 
man polluted with blood. 



ELIZABETH. 235 

In notifying her accession to Philip, she expressed to 
him her gratitude for the protection which he had afforded 
her ; and that monarch, hoping by the means of Ehzabeth 
to obtain that dominion over England of which he had 
failed in espousing xVIary, made her proptosals of marriage. 
To these,, however, she returned an obhging, but evasive 
answer. 

The education and conviction of Ehzabeth determined 
her to pursue the measures of the reformation ; and she 
frequently deliberated with sir WiUiam Cecil on the means 
of restoring the protestant religion ; but she resolved to 
proceed with cautious steps, and not to imitate the exam- 
ple of Mary, in encouraging a violent invasion on the esta- 
blished religion. She recalled those who had fled ; she 
set at liberty those who had been confined on account of 
religion ; she ordered a great part of the service to be 
read in English ; and after enjoining all the churches to 
conform to the practice of her own chapel, she forbade the 
host to be any more elevated in her presence. By her 
affability and address she gained the affections of her sub- 
jects ; and she delayed the entire change of religion till 
the meeting of the parliament, which was summoned to 
assemble. 

The elections had gone entirely against the catholics ; 
and the houses met in a disposition to gratify the queen. 
They began the session with an unanimous declaration, 
that " queen Elizabeth was, and ought to be, as well by 
the word of God, as the common and statute laws of the 
realm, the lawful, undoubted, and true heir to the crown, 
lawfully descended from the blood-royal, according to the 
order of succession settled in the thirty fifth of Henry 
VIII." This act of recognition was probably dictated by 
the queen herself and her minister ; and she did not follow 
the example of Mary, in declaring the validity of her 
mother's marriage, pr in expressly repealing the act for- 
merly passed against her own legitimacy. 

The first bill brought into parliament was for suppress- 
ing the monasteries lately erected, and for restoring the 
tenths and first-fruits to the queen. This point being 
gained, a bill was next passed, annexing the supremacy to 
the crown, which was vested with the whole spiritual povv- 
er ; and whoever denied, or refused to acknowledge the 

21 



^3Q HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

queeu's supremacy, was subjected to certain pains and 
penalties. A law was passed confirming all the statutes 
enacted in king Edward's time with regard to religion. 

A solemn and public disputation was held during this 
session, between the divines of the protestant and those 
of the catholic communion, in which, it may be easily im- 
agined, the champions of the former were entirely trium- 
phant. Emboldened by this victory, the protestants ven- 
tured on bringing a bill into parliament for abolishing the 
mass, and re-estabhshing the liturgy of king Edward.— 
Thus, in one session, without any violence or tumult, the 
whole system of religion was changed, and placed on ano- 
ther foundation. 

The commons also voted the queen a liberal subsidy ; 
but when, in an importunate address, they besought her to 
fix her choice of a husband, she rejected the proposal, and 
observed that England was her husband, and the people 
her children. She added, that she desired no higher cha- 
racter than to have it inscribed on her tombstone, " Here 
lies Elizabeth, who lived and died a maiden queen." 

While the queen and parharaent were employed in set- 
tling the national religion, negotiations for peace were 
carried on between the ministers of France, Spain, and 
England. Philip employed his utmost etforts to procure 
a restitution of Calais to England. So long as he enter- 
tained hopes of espousing the queen, he delayed to con- 
clude a peace with Henry ; and he seemed willing to con- 
tinue the war till she should obtain satisfaction. But Eli- 
zabeth, sensible of the low state of her finances, ordered 
her ambassadors to conclude a peace with Henry on any 
reasonable terms. It was agreed, that Henry should 
restore Calais at the expiration of eight years ; but it was 
evident, that this was only a colourable pretence for aban- 
doning that fortress. A peace with Scotland was a ne- 
cessary consequence of that with France. 

But though peace was concluded between France and 
England, there soon appeared serious grounds for misun- 
derstanding, rhe king of France ordered his son and 
daughter-in-law to quarter the arms of England on all 
their equipages and liveries ; and as the queen of Scots 
was next heir to that throne, Ehzabeth plainly saw, thai 
the king of France intended, on the first opportunity, to 



ELIZABETH. 23.7 

dispute her legitimacy, and her title to the crown. Soon 
after Francis II. succeeded to the throne of France, and 
still continuing to assume without reserve the title of king 
of Enjrland, she began to consider him and his queen as 
her mortal enemies ; and the jealousy thus excited against 
the queen of Scots terminated only with the life of the un- 
fortunate Mary. 

The present situation of affairs in Scotland afforded 
Elizabeth a favourable opportunity both of revenging the 
injury, and providing for her own safety. Popery was 
still the religion of the state in that country ; but the 
English preachers, who took shelter in Scotland on the 
accession of Mary to the throne of England, had filled the 
whole kinofdom with horror at the cruelties of the catho- 
lies ; and by their means, the reformation in that country 
had acquired additional strength, and even threatened the 
established religion. 

About this critical time, when the queen-regent, agree- 
able to the orders received from France, had been pro- 
ceeding with rigour against the protestants, John Knox 
arrived from Geneva, where he had imbibed, from his 
conmierce with Calvin, the highest fanaticism of his sect, 
augmented by the natural ferocity of his own character. 
He had been invited back to Scotland by the leaders of 
the reformation ; and mounting the pulpit at Perth, during 
the present ferment of men's minds, he declaimed against 
the idolatry and other abominations of the church of Rome, 
and incited his audience to exert themselves for its sub- 
version. A tumult immediately succeeded ; and, in a short 
time, a civil war raged through the whole kingdom. 

The leaders of the reformers, who had assumed the 
title of the congregation, sohcited succours from Eliza- 
beth ; and the wise council of the queen did not long 
deliberate in agreeing to this request. She equipped a 
fleet, which consisted of thirteen ships of war ; and she 
assembled at Berwick an army of eight thousand men, 
under the command of lord Grey, warden of the east and 
middle marches. The court of France, sensible of the 
danger, olfered the immediate restitution of Calais, pro- 
vided she would not interfere in the affairs of Scotland ; 
but she resolutely replied that she would never put an in- 
considerable fishing-town in competition with the safety 



238 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

of her dominions. Accordingly, she concluded a treaty of 
mutual defence with the congregation, and receiving from 
the Scots six hostages for the performance of articles, she 
ordered her fleet and army to begin their operations. 

The appearance of the English soon decided the fate of 

the contest ; and a treaty was speedily concluded, in 

^ ^ which it was stipulated that the French should im- 

1550* ^^^^^^^ly evacuate Scotland, and that an amnesty 

should be granted for all past offences. Soon after, 

the parliament abolished the papal jurisdiction in Scotland, 

and established the presbyterian form of discipHne, though 

Mary refused to sanction their statutes. 

Francis IV. died soon after, and Mary, finding her abode 
in France disagreeable, began to think of returning to her 
native country ; and she applied to Elizabeth for a safe 
conduct, in case she should be obhged to pass through 
England ; but she received for answer, that till she had 
jatified the treaty of Edinburgh, she could expect no favour 
from a person whom she had so much injured. To this 
Blary rephed with indignationj " With God's permission, 
I can return to Scotland without her leave ;" and embark- 
ing at Calais, she passed the English fleet in a fog, and 
arrived safe at Leith. Though a widow, yet she was only 
in her nineteenth year ; and by her beauty, and the polite- 
ness of her manners, she was well qualified to gain the 
affections of her subjects, who rejoiced at her arrival among 
them. Her first measures were calculated to establish 
order in a country divided by public factions and private 
feuds ; but there was one circumstance which bereaved 
Mary of the general favour that her agreeable manners 
and judicious deportment entitled her to expect. She was 
still a papist ; and this exposed the helpless queen to un- 
merited contumely, which she bore with benignity and pa- 
tience. In particular, John Knox, who possessed an un- 
controlled authority in the church, and even in the civil 
affairs of the nation, triumphed in the contumelious abuse 
of his sovereign, whom he usually denominated Jezebel. 

The queen of Scots, destitute of the means of resistance, 
and pressed by a turbulent nobility and a bigoted people, 
found that her only expedient for maintaining tranquillity 
was the preservation of a friendly connexion with Eliza- 
beth. Secretary Lidington w^as, therefore, sent to Lon- 



ELIZABETH. 



23^ 



don topay lier compliments to the queen, and express her 
desire of friendship and a good correspondence ; and both 
sovereigns assumed the appearances of a cordial reconcil- 
iation and friendship with each other. 

Elizabeth, finding that Mary was sufficiently depressed 
by the mutinous spirit of her subjects, employed herself 
in regulating the affairs of her own kingdom. She fur- 
nished the arsenals with arms, fortified the frontiers, pro- 
moted trade and navigation, and by building vessels of 
force herself, and sugfgesting the same to the merchants, 
she acquired to herself the titles of the restorer of naval 
glory, and the queen of the northern seas. 

Though Elizabeth kept aloof from marriage, yet she was 
not only very averse to appoint any successor to the crown, 
but was resolved, as much as was in her power, that no 
one, who could pretend to the succession, should have 
any heirs or successors. The lady Catherine Grey, young- 
er sister to lady Jane, having privately married the earl of 
Hertford, and proving pregnant, they w^ere both commit- 
ted to the Tower. As Hertford could not prove their 
nuptials within the time limited, the issue was declared il- 
legitimate ; and the earl was confined for nine years, till 
the death of his wife, by freeing the queen from all appre- 
hension of heirs and claimants from that quarter, procu- 
red him his liberty. 

At this time, the two great rival powers of Europe were 
Spain and England. The bigotry and intolerant spirit of 
Philip placed him at the head of the catholic party ; 
while Elizabeth, from her religious opinions, and ^ * * 
the conduct which she pursued, was considered as 
the bulwark and support of the protestants. The civil and 
religious contests by which France was divided, rendered 
that country an object of vigilance both to Philip and Eli- 
zabeth : the former supported the established government 
and religion ; while the latter lent her aid in protecting 
the Hugonots, or protestant party, which had taken b.n^s 
under the prince of Conde. Three thousand English took 
possession of Havre and Dieppe ; but the latter place was 
•so little capable of defence, that it was immediately aban- 
doned. The siege of Rouen was already formed by the 
catfioiics ; and tnough the English troops in it beliaved 
with great gallanrry, the place was taken by asssult^ and 
the whole garrison put to the sword. 

21* 



240 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

It was expected that the French catholics would imme- 
diately have formed the siege of Havre ; but the intestine 
divisions of the kingdom diverted their attention to anoth- 
er object. By the influence of Elizabeth, a considerable 
body of protestans had been levied in Germany ; and the 
Hugoiiots were enabled to take field against their enemies. 
A famous battle was fought at Dreux ; and in this action, 
Conde and Montmorency, the commanders of the oppo- 
site armies, by a singular fatahty, fell into the hands of 
their enemies. The appearances of victory remained with 
Guise ; but the admiral Coligni, collecting the remains of 
the army, and, inspiring every breast with his own invinci- 
ble courage, subdued some considerable places in Nor- 
xnandy. 

The expenses incurred by assisting the Hugonots had 
emptied the queen's exchequer, and obhged her to call a 
parliament. As the Hfe of Elizabeth had been en- 
r Zgo dangered by the small-pox, a little before the meet- 
* ing of that assembly, the commons, on the opening 
of the session, again entreated the queen to choose a hus- 
band, whom they promised faithfully to serve ; or, if she 
entertained any reluctance to the married state, they de- 
sired that the lawful successor might be appointed by an 
act of parliament. 

This subject was very little agreeable to the queen, who, 
considering the inconveniences likely to arise from de- 
claring in favour either of the queen of Scots or the house 
of Suffolk, determined to keep both parties in awe by 
maintaining an ambiguous conduct. She gave, therefore, 
an evasive answer to the commons, whom she told, that 
she had fixed no obsolute resolution against marriage ; that 
the difficulties attending the question of the succession 
were so great, that, for the sake of her people, she would 
be contented to remain some time longer in this vale of 
misery ; and that she could not die with satisfaction, till 
£>he had laid some solid foundation for their future security. 

in the mean time, the duke of Guise had been assassi- 
nated before Orleans, and Conde and Montmorency had 
come to agreement, that a toleration should be granted 
anew to the protestants. The interests of England were 
disregarded in the treaty ; and Havre, which had been 
some time in possession of the English, was obhged 
to capitulate to the arms of France. Elizabeth, whose 
usual vigour and foresight do not appear in this transac- 



ELIZABETH. 241 

tion, was now glad to compound matters, by agreeing that 
the hostages which the French had previously given for 
the restitution of Calais, should be restored on the pay- 
ment of two hundred and twenty thousand crowns, and 
that both sides should retain all their claims and preten- 
sions. 

The peace with Scotland still continued ; and even a 
cordial friendship seemed to have been cemented between 
Elizabeth and Mary. She always told the queen of Scots, 
that nothing would satisfy her but her espousing some 
English nobleman, which would remove all grounds of 
jealousy and misunderstanding between them. At last, 
she named lord Robert Dudley, now created earl of Lei- 
cester, as the person on whom she desired that Mary's 
choice should fall. 

Leicester, the great and powerful favourite of Elizabeth, 
possessed all those exterior qualities which are naturally 
alluring to the fair sex ; and, by means of these accomplish- 
ments, he was able to blind the sagacious Elizabeth, and 
to conceal from her the great defects which marked his 
character. He was proud, insolent, and ambitious, with- 
out honour or principle. The constant and declared at- 
tachment of Elizabeth to him, had emboldened him to 
aspire to her bed ; and the proposal of espousing Mary 
was by no means agreeable to him. Indeed, it is proba- 
ble, that the queen had no serious intentions of effecting 
this marriage, and that her design was merely to gain 
time, and elude the project of any other alliance ; for 
when Mary, in the hopes of being declared successor to 
the crown, seemed to listen to the proposal, Elizabeth re- 
ceded from her offers, and withdrew the bait which she had 
thrown out to her rival. 

After two years spent in evasions and artifices, Mary 
married lord Darnley, son to the earl of Lenox, her cousin- 
german, by the lady Margaret Douglas, niece to Henry 
VHL ; and as he was, after his spouse, next heir to the 
crown of England, this marriage seemed to strengthen 
and unite both their claims. 

Ehzabeth was secretly not displeased with this marriage, 
though she would rather have wished that Mary had re- 
inainedsingle ; yetshemenaced, protested and complained, 



242 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

as if she had suffered the most grievous injury. It served 
her as a pretence for refusing to acknowledge Mary's title 
to the succession of England, and for encouraging the dis- 
contents of the Scottish nobihty and clergy, to whom she 
promised support in their rebellious enterprises. 

Mary, however, was no sooner informed of the designs 
forming against her by the duke of Chatelrault, the earls 
of Murray, Argyle, Rothes, and Glencairn, and some 
others, than she assembled her forces, and obliged those 
rebel noblemen to leave their country, and take shelter in 
England. 

Elizabeth, when she found_the event so much to disap- 
point her expectations, disavowed all connexions with the 
Scottish malcontents, and even drove them from her pre- 
sence. The banished lords had now recourse to the cle- 
mency of their own sovereign ; and Mary seemed inclined 
to restore them to favour ; but her uncle, the cardinal of 
Lorraine, to whose opinion she always paid the greatest 
deference, advised her- by no means to pardon the protes- 
tant leaders. 

The cardinal of Lorraine had been a chief instrument in 
forming an association between Philip and Catherine of 
Medicis, for the extermination of the protestants ; and he 
took care that the measures of the queen of Scots should 
correspond with the violent councils embraced by the 
other catholic princes. A parliament was summoned at 
Edinburgh for attainting the banished lords, who were 
saved from the rigour of the law only by the ruin of Mary 
herself. 

The marriage of the queen of Scots with lord Darnley 
was so precipitate, that while she was allured by his youth 
and beauty, and exterior accomplishments, she had not 
observed that the qualities of his mind by no means cor- 
responded with the excellence of his person. He was vio- 
lent, insolent, and ungrateful ; addicted to low pleasures, 
and incapable of the sentiments of love and domestic en- 
dearment. The queen of Scots, in the first effusions of 
her fondness, had granted him the title of king, and had 
Joined his name mth her own in all public acts ; but ob- 
serving his weakness and vices, she began to see the danger 
of her profuse iiberaiity ; and tJie young prince, enraged 



ELIZABETH. 243 

at her imaginary neglects, pointed his vengeance against 
every one whom he deemed the cause of this change in 
her measures and behaviour. 

There happened to be in the court one David Rizzio, a 
Piedmontese musician, of mean birth, who, by his profes- 
sional talents, and the arts of address, had insinuated 
himself into the favour of Mary. He became her secreta- 
ry for French despatches ; he was consulted on all occa- 
sions ; favours of honour or emolument could be obtained 
only through his intercession ; and his insolence and ra- 
pacity drew on himself the hatred of the nobility and of 
the whole kingdom. 

On the change of the queen's sentiments, it was easy 
for Darnley's friends to persuade him that Rizzio was the 
real author of her indifference, and even to excite in his 
mind jealousies of a more dangerous nature ; and the 
king, by the advice of several of the courtiers, determined 
on the assassination of Rizzio. Mary, in the sixth month 
of her pregnancy, was supping in private with the countess 
of Argyle, Rizzio, and others of her servants, when the 
king entered the room by a private passage, and stood at 
the back of Mary's chair. Lord Ruthven, George Doug- 
las, and other conspirators, rushed in after him ; and Riz- 
zio, aware of the danger, ran behind his mis-.ress for pro- 
tection ; but in spite of her cries, and menaces, and en- 
treaties, Douglas struck a dagger into the body of Rizzio, 
who was then dragged into the anti-chamber, and despatch- 
ed with fifty-six wounds. The unhappy queen, informed 
of his fate, immediately dried up her tears, and said she 
would weep no more, but think of revenge. 

The conspirators applied to the earl of Bothwell, a new 
favourite, and that nobleman pacifi d Mary ; but she was 
implacable against her husband, whom she rendered the 
object of universal contempt. He was permitted, howev- 
er, to have apartments in the castle of Edinburgh, where 
Mary was delivered of a son ; and sir James Melvil was 
sent with the intelligence of this happy event to England. 
Melvil tells us, that Elizabeth had given a ball to her court 
at Greenwich the evening of his arrival in London, and 
was displaying all her usual spirit and gayety ; but when 
news arrived of the prince of Scotland's birth, all her joy 
was damped, and she ccmplamed to some of her attend- 



244 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

ants, that the queen of Scots was mother of a son, while 
she was only a baren stock. 

The birth of a son gave additional zeal to Mary's parti- 
sans in England, where her conduct also procured her 
universal esteem ; but these flattering prospects were sud- 
denly blasted by her egregious indiscretion at least, or, as 
some are still inclined to suppose, by her atrocious guilt. 

The earl of Both well was a man of considerable power 
in Scotland, but of profligate manners. He had acquired 
the favour and entire confidence of Mary ; and reports 
were spread of too great an intimacy between them, though 
Bothwell was a married man. These reports gained ground 
from the increased hatred of the queen towards her hus- 
band, who, sensible of the neglects which he underwent, 
had it in contemplation to retire into France or Spain. 

While affairs were in this unpleasant situation, Darnley 
was seized with an illness of an extraordinary nature ; and 
the queen visiting him during his sickness, treated' him 
with great tenderness, and a cordial reconciliation seemed 
to have been brought about between them. The king, na- 
turally uxorious, put himself implicitly into her hands ; and 
as the concourse of people about the court might disturb 
him in his infirm state of health, Mary assigned him a lodg- 
ing in a solitary house, called the Kirk of Field. In this 
situation, the queen gave him marks of kindness and at- 
tention, and lay some nights in a room below his ; but, on 
the 9th of February, she told him, that she v»'ould pass that 
night in the palace, because the marriage of one of her 
servants was there to be celebrated in her presence. 
About two o'clock in the morning, the whole city of Edin- 
burgh was alarmed by a great noise ; and it was discovered, 
that the house in which the king lay had been blown up by 
gunpowder, and that his dead body had been carried by 
the violence of the explosion into a neighbouring field. 

The general opinion was that Bothwell was the author 
of this horrible crime ; and the earl of Lenox, Darnley's 
father, implored speedy justice against him and the other 
assassins. Mary allowed only fifteen days for the examina- 
tion of this important affair ; and as Bothwell still possessed 
the confidence of the queen, and enjoyed his former autho- 
rity, Lenox entertained just apprehensions from the power, 
insolence and temerity of his enemy. As, therefore, nei- 
ther accuser nor witness appeared at the trial, Bothwell 



ELIZABETH. 245 

was absolved from the king's murder ; but the verdict in 
his favour was attended with circumstances which strongly 
confirmed the general opinion of his guilt. Mary, having 
gone to visit her son at Sterling, was seized by Bothwell, 
and ostensibly carried off against her will, with the avowed 
design of forcing her to yield to his purpose. Some of the 
nobility sent the queen a private message, that if she lay 
under force, they would use all their efforts to rescue her ; 
but the queen professed herself satisfied with Bothwell's 
conduct, and granted him a pardon for the violence com- 
mitted on her person, and for all other crimes. 

Soon after this infamous transaction, Bothwell obtained 
a divorce from his wife, and Mary, with indecent precipi- 
tation, raised him to her bed and to her throne. Ehzabeth 
remonstrated, by friendly letters and messages, against the 
marriage ; the court of France did the same ; but Mary 
paid no regard to the advice she received, and seemed to 
scorn the united censures of Europe. 

At length the spirit of the nation was roused ; and lord 
Hume, with a body of eight hundred horse, suddenly en- 
vironed the queen of Scots and Bothwell in the castle of 
Bothwick. riiey found means, hov/ever, of making their 
escape ; but Mary was obliged to put herself into the hands 
of the confederates. She was conducted to Edinburgh, 
amidst the insults of the populace, who reproached her for 
her crimes, and who held before her eyes, which way so- 
ever she turned, a banner, on which were painted the mur- 
der of her husband and the distress of her infant son. Both- 
well, meanwhile, found means to reach the Orkneys, 
whence he escaped to Denmark, where he was thrown in- 
to prison, and losing his senses, died about ten years after, 
in extreme misery. 

Mary was sent under a guard to the castle of Lochleven, 
where the associated lords refused Throgmorton, the Eng- 
lish ambassador, all access to her ; and various schemes 
were proposed for the treatment of the captive queen. In 
the mean time, the earl of Murray was appointed regent, 
and Mary signed a deed, by which she resigned the crown 
in favour of her son. In consequence of this forced re- 
nunciation, the young prince was proclaimed king, by the 
name of James VI. ; and he was soon after crowned at 
Sterlinor, where the earl of Morton took the corona- 

• An 

tion-oath in his name. Mary, however, found |e/^o* 
means to escape from Lochleven ; and being joined 



246 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

by many of the nobility, an army of six thousand men was 
assembled, in a few days, under her standard. The regent 
instantly took the field against her ; and, coming to an en- 
gagement at Langside, near Glasgow, the queen's forces 
were entirely defeated. 

The unhappy Mary fled from the field of battle, with a 
few adherents, to the borders of England ; and rashly con- 
fiding to some late specious professions of Ehzabeth, she 
embarked on board a fishing-boat in Galloway, and landed 
the same day at Workington, in Cumberland ; whence 
she immediately despatched a messenger to London, to no- 
tify her arrival, to request leave to visit Elizabeth, and to 
crave her protection. 

Elizabeth, seeing her rival thus in her power, attend- 
ed rather to the dictates of policy than generosity. She sent 
lord Scrope and sir Francis Knollis to inform her, that her 
request of being allowed to visit their sovereign could not 
be complied with, till she had cleared herself of her hus- 
band's murder. On receiving this intelligence, Mary burst 
into tears ; and the necessity of her situation extorted from 
her a declaration, that she would submit her cause to the 
arbitration of her sister of England. The regent of Scot- 
land too professed his readiness to abide by the determina- 
tion of Elizabeth. Mary was removed to Bolton, in York- 
shire, and placed under the care of lord Scrope ; and the 
issue of this affair was regarded as an object of the greatest 
moment to the interests and security of Elizabeth. Com- 
missioners were appointed on the part of England, of Ma- 
ry, and of the regent, representing the king and kingdom 
of Scotland, and met at York, where this grand inquiry 
commenced. Under pretext, however, that the distance 
from her person retarded the proceedings of the commis- 
sioners, Elizabeth removed the conferences to Hampton- 
court. 

When Murray, the regent, was called upon for proofs 
of his charge against Mary, he produced before the com- 
missioners some love-letters and soimets, and a promise of 
marriage to Bothwell, before his trial and acquittal, all 
written in the hand of the queen of Scots. These were in- 
contestible evidences of her imprudence, and of her crimi- 
nal correspondence with Bothwell, however they may be 
considered in regard to her consent to the murder of her 
husband ; but as Mary had instructed her commissioners 
not to make a defence, if any thing were advanced that 
touched her honour, as she was a sovereign princess, and 



ELIZABETH. 247 

could not be subject to a foreign tribunal, though she pro- 
iessed her readiness to justify her innocence to EUzabeth 
in person, the conferences terminated, and no decision was 
given. 

The queen of Scots was now removed from Bolton to 
Tutbury, in Staffordshire, and put under the care of the 
earl of Shrewsbury. Elizabeth entertained hopes, that she 
would either resign the crown, or associate her son with 
her in the government, and leave the administration in the 
hands of Murray during her son's minority ; but the high- 
spirited Mary declared, that her last words should be those 
of a queen of Scotland ; and she insisted either that Eliza- 
beth should assist her in recovering her authority, or give 
her liberty to retire into France. Elizabeth, however, re- 
fused both these proposals, and determined to detain hei 
still a captive. 

The duke of Norfolk, the only peer that enjoyed the 
highest title of nobihty, and the most powerful subject in 
England, was at this time a widower ; and his marriage 
with the queen of Scots appeared desirable to several of 
his friends and those of that princess. The scheme was 
made known to Norfolk, who, afraid of disclosing his in- 
tentions to Elizabeth, endeavoured to increase his inter- 
est in the kingdom, by engaging the nobility to favour the 
measure. Mary was applied to on the subject, and re- 
turned a favourable answer. The kings of France and 
Spain were secretly consulted, and expressed their appro- 
bation of the measure; and though Elizabeth's consent 
was always held out as a previous condition of finishing this 
alliance, it was apparently the duke's intention to render 
his party too formidable to be resisted. 

Elizabeth was not entirely unacquainted with the plan^ 
and even intimated to the duke the necessity of caution ; 
but he wanted either prudence or courage to make known 
to her his full intentions ; and when the court of England 
received certain information of this dangerous combina- 
tion, the alarm became extreme. Norfolk and many of 
liis friends were arrested ; and the queen of Scots was re- 
moved to Coventry, and all access to her, for a time, was 
more strictly prohibited. 

The conspirators, among whom were the earls of Nor- 
thumberland and Westmoreland, appealed to arms ; and 
about four thousand foot and sixteen hundred horse took 
the field, and expected the concurrence of all the catholics 

22 



248 HISTORY OF ENGLAND-. 

in England. The duke of Norfolk, however, not only dis- 
countenanced these proceedings, but employed all his in- 
terest to suppress the rebellion ; which being effected in a 
short time, the queen was so well pleased with his beha- 
viour, that she released him from the Tower, and only ex- 
acted a promise from him, not to proceed any farther in 
his negotiations with the queen of Scots. 

After an interval of five years, a new parliament was as- 
sembled, in which appeared the dawn of spirit and liberty 
among the English. The puritans agitated several questions 
respecting religion ; and Strickland, a member of the house 
of commons, moved a bill for the amendment of the liturgy. 
This was highly resented by the queen, who was, if possi- 
ble, still more jealous of what regarded religion, than of 
matters of state. She summoned Strickland before the 
council, and prohibited him from appearing in the house 
of commons ; but finding that her conduct was likely to 
excite a great ferment, she sent him permission to give his 
attendance in parliament. Elizabeth, however, would not 
allow the parliament to discuss any matters of state, and 
still less to meddle with the church. For a long period . 
the chief business for which parliament was assembled was, 
to grant subsidies, to attaint and punish the obnoxious no- 
bility, and to countenance such great efforts of power as 
might be deemed somewhat exceptionable, when they pro- 
ceeded entirely from the sovereign. The queen, as she 
was determined to yield none of her power, was very cau- 
tious in asking the parliament for any supply. She endea- 
voured, by a rigid frugahty, to make her ordinary revenues 
suffice for the necessities of the crown ; or she employed 
her prerogative, andprocuredmoneyby the granting of pa- 
tents and monopolies, or by some such ruinous expedient. 

The bigotry of Philip, and the inhuman severity of his 
representative, the duke of Alva, had filled the Low Coun- 
tries with confiscation, imprisonment, exile, and death. 
Elizabeth gave protection to all the Flemings who took 
vshelter in her dominions, and reaped the advantage of in- 
troducing into England some useful manufactures which 
were before unknown. Alva, whose measures were ever 
violent, entered into a scheme with the Spanish ambassador, 
and one Rodolphi, a Florentine merchant, for uniting the 
catholics and Mary queen of Scots in a confederacy against 
Elizabeth. The duke of Norfolk, despairing of the conH- 



ELIZABETH. 249 

dence and favour of Elizabeth, was tempted to violate 
his word, and to open anew his corrospondence with the 
captive queen. A promise of marriage was renewed be- 
tween them ; and the duke gave his consent to enterprises 
still more criminal. 

The new conspiracy had hitherto escaped the vigilance 
of EHzabeth, and of Cecil, now lord Burleigh ; but one of 
the duke's servants betrayed his master ; and the evidence 
of the bishop of Ross proved the guilt of Norfolk beyond 
all doubt. A jury of twenty-five peers passed sentence 
upon him ; but the queen hesitated to put the sen- 
tence in execution. At length, after a delay of . '„c^ 
four months, the fatal warrant was signed ; and 
Norfolk died, acknowledging the justice of his sentence. 

The queen of Scots was charged by Elizabeth as the 
cause of these disturbances ; and though Mary endeavour- 
ed to justify herself, the queen was little satisfied with her 
apology, and the parliament applied for her immediate 
trial ; but Elizabeth forbade them to proceed farther in the 
affair, and only increased the rigour and strictness of her 
confinement. 

The same views which engaged the queen to support the 
Hugonots in France, would have led her to assist the dis- 
tressed protestants in the Low Countries ; but the mighty 
power of Philip kept her in awe, and obliged her to deny 
the Flemish exiles an entrance into her dominions. The 
people, however, enraged by the cruelty, oppression, and 
persecution under which they suffered, flew to arms, 
Holland and Zealand revolted ; and under the auspices of 
the prince of Orange, the whole Batavian provinces united 
in a league against the tyranny of Spain. By a solemn 
embassy, the Flemings offered Elizabeth the sovereignty 
of these provinces, if she would exert her power in their 
defence ; but as she was never"ambitious of conquests, or 
of new acquisitions, she declined the proffered sovereignty. 
The queen, however, sent the revolters a sum of money, 
and concluded a treaty with them, in which she stipulated 
to assist them with five thousand foot, and a thousand horse, 
at the charge of the Flemings. It was farther agreed, thai 
the new States, as they began to call themselves, should 
enter into no alliance without her consent, and if any discord 
should arise among them, it was to be referred to her arbi- 
tration. She was desirous of making the king of Spain 



250 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

believe that her sole motive for entering into a treaty witk 
the States, was to prevent them from throwing themselves 
into the arms of France ; and Philip dissembled his resent- 
ment against the queen, and waited for an opportunity of 
taking his revenge. 

Elizabeth was extremely anxious to support an interest 
in Scotland, because that country alone afforded her ene- 
mies the means of attacking her, and because she was sen- 
sible that the Guises had engaged Mary to have recourse 
to the powerful protection of Phihp. That prince, under 
the name of the pope, sent a body of seven hundred Span- 
iards and Italians into Ireland ; but they were soon, 
obhged to surrender ; and when the English ambassador 
complained ef the invasion, he was answered by similar 
complaints of the piracies committed by Drake in the new" 
world . 

This brave officer, setting sail from Plymouth in 1577, 
with four ships and a pinnace, on board of which were one 
hundred and sixty-four men, passed the Straits of Magel 
Ian, attacked the Spaniards in South America, and cap- 
tured many rich prizes. He was the first Englishman that 
completed the circumnavigation of the globe ; and he re- 
turned safely to his native country, after a voyage of more 
than three years. 

In order to avert the resentment of Spain, the queen 
was persuaded to disavow the enterprise ; but 
tkppt ^^^ determined to countenance this gallant offi- 
cer, on whom she conferred the honour of knight- 
hood, and accepted of a banquet at Greenwich, on board 
the ship which had performed such a memorable voyage. 

The duke of Alengon, now created duke of Anjou, nearly 
twenty-five years younger than the queen, became a suitor 
of Elizabeth. He came over to England in order to pro- 
secute his suit ; and the reception which he met with made 
him expect complete success. On the anniversary of her 
coronation, the queen was observed to take a ring from 
her own finger, and put it upon his ; and all the specta- 
tors concluded, that in this ceremony, she had given him 
a promise of marriage, and was even desirous of signify- 
ing her intentions to all the world. Reflections, however, 
on the probable consequences of this marriage, filled tho 
mind of the queen with anxiety and irresolution ; but, at 



ELIZABETH. 255 

of his succession to the English throne, he stifled his re- 
sentments, and gradually entered into a good correspon- 
dence with the court of England. 

While Elizabeth insured tranquillity from the attempts 
of her nearest neighbour, accounts were received of the 
vast preparations made b} the Spaniards for the invasion 
of England, and for the entire conquest of this kingdom. 
Jn all the ports of Sicily, Naples, Spain, and Portugal-, 
Philip had for some time been equipping vessels of uncom- 
mon size and force, and filling them with stores and pro- 
visions. The most renowned nobility of Italy and b'pain 
were ambitious of sharing in the honour of this great en- 
terprise ; and the Spaniards, ostentaiious of their power, 
and confident of success, had already denominated this ar- 
mament, " The Invincible Armada." 

Elizabeth, finding that she must contend for her crown 
with the whole force of Spain, made preparations for re- 
sistance ; and though her force seemed very inadequate 
to oppose so powerful an enemy, every place in the king- 
dom discovered tlije greatest readiness in defending their 
liberty and religion, by contributing ships, men, an--^ t" 
ney. The gentry and nobility vied with each other 
same generous career ; and all the loans which the 
demanded were immediately granted. 

Lord Howard of Effingham, a man of distinguir-ra < 
abilities, was appointed admiral of the fleet ; and D 
Hawkins, and Frobisher, the most renowned seamei ;.j 
Europe, served u;ider him. A small squadron, commai. ietl 
hy lord Se5'mour, second son of the protector Somerset, 
lay off Dunkirk, in order to intercept the duke of Parma. 

The troops were disposed along the south coast ; and a 
body of twenty-two thousand foot, and a thousand horse, 
under the command of the earl of Leicester, was stationed 
at Tilbury, in order to cover the capital. The principal 
army consisted of thirty-four thousand foot, and two thou- 
sand horse, commanded by lord Hunsdon ; and these were 
reserved for guarding the queen's person, and marching 
whithersoever the enemy should appear. Men of reflec- 
tion, however, entertained the greatest apprehensions, 
when they considered the force of fifty thousand veteran 
Spaniards, under the duke of Parma, the most consum- 
mate general of the age. 



25& HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

The queen was sensible that next to her popularity, the 
firmest support of her throne consisted in the zeal of the 
people for the protestant religion, and their abhorrence of 
popery. She reminded the English of their former danger 
from the tyranny of Spain ; and of the bloody massacres 
in the Indies, and the unrelenting executions in the Low 
Countries ; and a list was published of the several instru- 
ments of torture, with which, it was pretended, the Spanish 
armada was loaded. The more to excite the martial spi- 
rit of the nation, the queen appeared on horseback in the 
camp at Tilbury ; and riding through the lines, she exhorted 
the soldiers to remember their duty to their country and 
their God, declaring that she would rather perish in battle 
than survive the ruin and slavery of her people. By this 
spirited conduct she excited the admiration of the soldiery; 
the attachment to her became enthusiastic ; and all swore 
to defend the glorious cause in which they were engaged. 

The armada, after sailing from Lisbon, suffered consid- 
erably from storm ; but the damages being repaired, the 
Spaniards again put to sea. The fleet consisted of one 
^ . ?. Ired and thirty vessels, of which one hundred were 
' .-.lieons, and of larger size than any before seen inEurope. 

M board were upwards of thirty thousand men, and two 
Jiui sand six hundred and thirty great pieces of brass 

ir'Miice. Effingham, who was stationed at Plymouth, 
h?:- lUst time to get out of port, when he saw the armada 
.vanciiig towards him, disposed in the form of a crescent, 

vd stretching the distance of seven miles from one extre- 
mity to the other. x\s the *rmada advanced up the chan- 
nel, the English hung on its rear, and soon found that the 
largeness of the Spanish ships was no advantage to them. 
Their bulk exposed them the more to the fire of the ene- 
my ; while their cannon, placed too high, passed over the 
heads of the English. 

The armada had now reached Calais, and cast anchor, 
in expectation that the duke of Parma would put to sea 
and join them. The English admiral, however, filling 
eight of his smaller ships with combustible materials, sent 
ihem one after another into the midst of the enemy. The 
Spaniards were so much alarmed, that they immediately 
cut their cables, and fled with the greatest precipitation. 
The EngUsh, whose fleet now amounted to one hundred 



ELIZABETH ^57 

and forty sail, fell upon them next morning while in con» 
fusion ; and besides doing great damage to other ships, 
they took or destroyed about twelve of the enemy. 

The Spanish admiral, defeated in many rencounters, and 
perceiving the inevitable destruction of his fleet, prepared 
to return homewards ; but conducting his shattered ships 
by the circuitous route of Scotland and Ireland, a violent 
tempest overtook them near the Orkneys. Many of the 
vessels were wrecked on the western isles of Scotland, and 
on the coast of Ireland ; and not one half of this mighty 
armament returned to Spain. 

The discomfiture of the armada begat in the nation a 
kind of enthusiastic passion for enterprises against 
Spain ; and ships were hired, as well as arms pro- ^ -qo 
vided, at the expense of the adventurers. Among 
those who signalized themselves in these expeditions, were 
Drake and Norris, Grenvilie, Howard, and the earls of 
Essex and Cumberland. 

The war in the Netherlands still continued ; and the 
king of Navarre, a protestant, ascending the throne of 
France by the title of Henry IV., a great part of the no- 
bility immediately deserted him, and the king of Spain en- 
tertained views either of dismembering the French monar- 
chy, or of annexing the whole to his own dominions. In 
this emergency, Henry addressed himself to Ehzabeth, 
who sent him aid both in men and money ; and the Eng- 
lish auxiliaries acquired great reputation in several enter- 
prises, and revived in France the fame of their ancient va- 
lour. 

The war did great injury to Spain ; but it was attended 
with considerable expense to England ; and the queen sum- 
moned a parliament in order to obtain a supply. How- 
ever, it is evident that Elizabeth either thought her autho- 
rity so estabhshed as to need no concessions in return, or 
she rated her prerogative above money. When sir Edward 
Coke, the speaker, made to her the then three usual re- 
quests of freedom from arrests, access to her person, and 
liberty of speech, she declared that she would not impeach 
the freedom of their persons, nor refuse them access to her 
provided it were upon urgent occasions, and when she was 
at leisure from other important affairs ; but that they were 
not to speak every one what he listeth, and that the privi. 
Tege of speech extended no farther than a liberty ofay or np. 



253 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

Henry IV. renounced the protestant religion, and wa^; 
received by the prelates of his party into the catholic 
church ; and Elizabeth assisted that monarch to break the 
league which had been formed against him, and which, 
after his conversion to popery, gradually dissolved. 

Though the queen made war against Phihp in France 
and the Low Countries, yet the severest blows which he 
received from England, proceeded from naval enterprises. 
James Lancaster, with three ships and a pinnace, 
tkol' ^^^^ thirty-nine Spanish ships, sacked Fernambouc 
* on the coast of Brazil, and brought home a great 
quantity of treasure. Sir Walter Raleigh was less suc- 
cessful in an expedition to Guinea, a country which he un- 
dertook to explore at his own expense. Sir Francis Drake 
engaged in an enterprise against Panama ; and the Spa- 
niards obliged the English to return without effecting any 
thing ; and Drake, from the vexation of this disappoint- 
ment, was seized with a distemper, of which he died. 

This unsuccessful enterprise in America determined the 
English to attack the Spanish dominions in Europe. A 
powerful fleet of one hundred and seventy vessels, carry- 
ing upwards of seven thousand soldiers, besides Dutch 
auxiliaries, set sail from Plymouth ; and after a fruitless 
attempt to land at St. Sebastian, on the western side of 
Cadiz, resolved to attack the ships and galleys in the bay. 
This attempt was deemed rash ; but the earl of Essex 
strenuously recommended the enterprise. Effingham, the 
commander in chief, appointed sir Walter Raleigh, and 
lord Thomas Howard, to lead the van ; but Essex, contra- 
ry to the injunctions of the admiral, pressed forward into 
the thickest of the fight ; and landing his men at the fort of 
Puntal, he immediately marched to Cadiz, which the im- 
petuous valour of the Enghsh soon carried, sword in hand. 
The generosity of Essex, not inferior to his valour, induced 
him to stop the slaughter. The English obtained immense 
plunder ; but they missed a much greater, by the Spanish 
admiral setting fire to the ships, in order to prevent their 
falling into the hands of the enemy. It was co nputed 
that the loss which the Spaniards sustained by this enter- 
prise amounted to twenty millions of ducats. 

The king of France concluded a peace with Spain ; 
and the queen knew that she could finish the war on 



ELIZABETH. 259 

equitable terms with Philip. Burleigh advised hef to 
embrace pacific measures ; but Essex, whose passion for 
glory rendered him desirous that the war should continue^ 
urged that her majesty had no reason to fear the issue of 
the contest, and that it would be dishonourable in her to 
desert the Hollanders, till their aflfairs were placed in 
greater security. The advice of Essex was more agree- 
able to Elizabeth ; and the favourite seemed daily to ac- 
quire an ascendant over the minister. Had he, indeed, 
been endued with caution and temper*, he might soon 
have engrossed the entire confidence of his mistress ; but 
his lofty spirit could ill submit to implicit deference ; and 
in a dispute with the queen, he was so heated by the argu- 
ment, and so entirely forgetful of the rules both of civihty 
and duty, that he turned his back upon her in a contemp- 
tuous manner. Elizabeth, naturally prone to anger, in-^ 
stantly gave him a box on the ear, adding a passionate ex- 
pression suitable to his impertinence. Instead of recoi 
looting himself, and making the submission due to her sex 
and station, Essex clapped his hand on his sword, swore 
that he would not bear such usage, were it from Henrv 
the Eighth himself, and immediately withdrew from court 

The queen's partiality, however, soon reinstated him in 
his former favour : and the death of Burleigh, equally re- 
gretted by his sovereign and the people, seemed to ensure 
him the confidence of Elizabeth. 

Soon after the death of this wise and faithful minister, 
Phihp the Second expired at Madrid. This haughty 
prince, desirous of an accommodation with his revolted 
subjects in the Netherlands, had transferred to his daugh- 
ter, married to the archduke Albert, the title to the Low 
Countries ; but the States considered this deed only as 
the change of a name ; and the secret opposition of France, 
as well as the avowed efibrts of England, continued to 
operate against the progress of Albert, as they had done 
against that of Phihp. 

The authority of the English in the affairs of Ireland had 
hitherto been little more than nominal. Instead of invi- 
ting the Irish to adopt the more civilized customs of their 
conquerors, they even refused to communicate to them 
the privilege of their laws, and every where marked them, 
out as aliens and enemies ; and the treatment which thev 

23 ^ 



26^ HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

experienced, rendered them such, and made them daily 
become more untractable and more dangerous. Insurrec- 
tions and rebellions had been frequent in Ireland ; and Eli- 
zabeth tried several expedients for reducing that country 
to greater order and submission ; but these expedients 
were unsuccessful, and Ireland became formidable to the 
English. 

Hugh O'Neale, who had been raised by the queen to the 
dignity of earl of Tyrone, embraced the resolution of 
raising an open refbellion, and entered into a correspond- 
ence with Spain, whence he procured a supply of arms 
and ammunition. A victory obtained over sir Henry Bag- 
nal, who had advanced to relieve a fort besieged by the 
rebels, raised the reputation of Tyrone, who assumed the 
character of the deliverer of his country. The 
^' ' ■ English council were now sensible that the rebel- 
lion of Ireland should be opposed by vigorous 
measures ; and the queen appointed Essex governor of 
that country, by the title of lord-lieutenant, and gave him 
the command of twenty thousand foot, and two thousand 
horse. 

On his landing at Dublin, Essex was guilty of a capital 
error, which was the ruin of his enterprise. Instead of 
leading his forces immediately into Ulster against Tyrone, 
the chief enemy, he wasted the season of action in redu- 
cing Munster : and when he assembled his troops for an 
expedition into Ulster, the army was so averse to this 
enterprise, and so terrified with the reputation of the Irish 
rebel, that many of them counterfeited sickness, and many 
of them deserted. Convinced that it would be impossible 
for him to effect any thing against an enemy who, though 
superior in number, was determined to avoid a decisive 
action, Essex hearkened to a message sent him by Tyrone 
for a conference. The generals met without any of their 
attendants ; a river ran between them, into which Tyrone 
entered to the depth of his saddle ; but Essex stood on the 
opposite bank. A cessation of arms was concluded till 
the next spring, renewable from six weeks to six weeks ; 
but which might be broken by either party on giving a 
fortnight's notice. Essex also received from Tyrone pro- 
posals of peace, in which that rebel had inserted many 
unreasonable conditions : and, it was afterwards suspected, 



ELIZABETH. S6-1 

that he had commenced a very unjustifiable correspond'- 
ence with the enemy. 

Ehzabeth was highly provoked at the unexpected issue 
of this great and expensive enterprise ; and Essex, in- 
formed of the queen's anger, set out for England, and ar- 
rived at court before any one was apprized of his inten- 
tions. Though covered with dirt and sweat, he hastened 
to the presence-chamber, and thence to the privy-cham- 
ber ; nor stopped till he was in the queen's bed chamber, 
who had just risen. After some private conversation with 
her, he retired with great satisfaction ; but, though the 
queen had thus been taken by surprize, she ordered 
liim to be confined to his chamber, and to be twice exa- 
mined by the council. 

Essex professed an entire submission to the queen's 
will, and declared his intention of retiring into the coun- 
try, remote from the courts and business : but, though he 
affected to be cured of his ambition, the vexation of this 
disappointment, and of the triumph gained by his enemies, 
threw him into a distemper which seemed to endanger his 
life. The queen, alarmed with his situation, ordered her 
physicians to attend him, and also to deliver him a message, 
which was probably more efficacious in promoting his re- 
covery, than any medicines that could be prescribed. Af- 
ter some interval, Elizabeth allowed her favourite to retire 
to his own house, where, in the company of his countess, 
he passed his time in the pursuits of elegant literature. 

Essex possessed a monopoly of sweet wines ; and as his 
patent was nearly expiring, he patiently expected that the 
queen would renew it ; but Elizabeth, whose temper was 
somewhat haughty and severe, denied his request. Es- 
sex, \yhose patience was exhausted, burst at once all re- 
straints of prudence ; and observed, that " the queen was 
now grown an old woman, and became as crooked in her 
mind as her body." Some court ladies carried this story 
to the queen, who was highly incensed against him ; but 
his secret applications to the king of Scots, her heir and 
successor, were still more provoking to Elizabeth than 
the sarcasm of her age and deformity. James, however, 
disapproved of any violent method of extorting from the 
queen an immediate declaration of his right of succession ; 



262 HISTORY OF ENGLAND, 

and Essex, disappointed in his project, formed a select 
council of malcontents at Drury-house, where he delibe- 
rated with them concerning the method of taking arms., 
chiefly for the purpose of removing his enemies and settling 
a new plan of government. 

Receiving a summons to attend the council at the trea- 
surer's house, Essex concluded that the conspiracy was 
discovered, or at least suspected. He, therefore, rashly 
sallied forth with about two hundred attendants, armed 
only with walking swords ; and in his way to the city, he 
cried aloud, " For the queen ! for the queen ! a plot is laid 
for my life !" the citizens flocked about him in amaze- 
ment ; but though he told them that England was sold to 
the Infanta, and exhorted them to arm instantly, no one 
showed a disposition to join him. Essex, observing the 
coldness of the citizens, and hearing that he was proclaim- 
ed a traitor by the earl of Cumberland and lord Burleigh, 
began to despair of success, and forced his way to his own 
house ; where he appeared determined to defend himself 
to the last extremity ; but after some parley, he surrender- 
ed at discretion. 

He and his friend, the earl of Southampton, were ar- 
raigned before a jury of twenty-five peers. The guilt of 
the prisoners was too apparent to admit of any doubt. 
When sentence was pronounced, Essex spoke like a man 
who expected nothing but death ; but Southampton's be- 
haviour was more mild and inoffensive, and he excited 
the compassion of all the peers. 

After Essex had passed some days in the solitude and 
reflection of a prison, his proud heart was at last subdued, 
not by the fear of death, but by the sentiments of religion ; 
and he gave in to the council an account of all his crimi- 
nal designs, as well as of his correspondence with the 
king of Scots. The present situation of Essex excited all 
the tender affections of Elizabeth : she signed the warrant 
for his execution ; she countermanded it ; she resolved on 
his death ; she felt a new return of tenderness : but as he 
made no application to her for mercy, she finally gave her 
consent to his execution. Essex was only thirty-four 
years of age, when his rashness, imprudence, and violence, 
brought him to this untimely end. Some of his associates 
were tried, condemned, and executed ; but Southampton 



ELIZABETH. 263 

was saved with great difficulty, though he was detained in 
prison during the remainder of this reign. 

In Ireland, Mountjoy, who succeeded Essex, had ef- 
fected the defeat of Tyrone, and the expulsion of the Span- 
iards. Many of the chieftains, after concealing themselves 
during some time, in woods and morasses, submitted to 
the mercy of the deputy. Tyrone himself, after an unsuc- 
cessful application to be received on terms, surren- 
dered unconditionally to Mountjoy, who intended . ' ^* 
to bring him a captive to England. But Elizabeth 
was now incapable of receiving any satisfaction from this 
fortunate event. Some incidents had happened which re- 
vived her tenderness for Essex, and filled her with the 
greatest sorrow. After his return from the fortunate ex- 
pedition against Cadiz, she had given him a ring as a 
pledge of her affection ; and assuring him that into what- 
ever disgrace he might fall, if he sent her that ring, she 
would afford him a patient hearing, and lend a favourable 
ear to his apology. Essex, notwithstanding all his mis- 
fortunes, had reserved this precious gift to the last extre- 
mity ; but after his trial and condemnation, he resolved to 
try the experiment, and committed the ring to the countess 
of Nottingham, whom he desired to deliver it to the queen. 
The countess was prevailed on by her husband, the mortal 
enemy of Essex, not to execute the commission ; and Eli- 
zabeth, ascribing the neglect to his invincible obstinacy, at 
last signed the warrant for his execution. The countess 
falling into a dangerous sickness, was seized with remorse 
for her conduct ; and having obtained a visit from the 
queen, she craved her pardon, and revealed to her the fa- 
tal secret. The queen burst into a furious passion ; and 
shaking the dying countess in her bed, cried out, *' God 
may pardon you, but I never can." 

From that moment, Elizabeth resigned herself to the 
deepest and most incurable melancholy ; she even refused 
food and medicine ; and throwing herself on the floor, she 
remained there ten days and as many nights, declaring life 
an insufferable burthen to her, and uttering chiefly groans 
and sighs. Her anxious mind had so long preyed on her 
frail body, that her end was visibly approaching ; and the 
council being assembled, commissioned the lord-keeper, 

23* 



264 HISTORY OF ENGLAN1>» 

admiral, and secretary, to know her majesty's pleasure 
with regard to her successor. She answered with a faint 
voice, that " she had held a regal sceptre, and desired no 
other than a royal successor.'* Cecil requesting her to ex- 
plain herself more particularly, she subjoined, that " she 
would have a king to succeed her, and who should that be, 
but her nearest kinsman, the king of Scots 1" Soon after, 
her voice failed, and her senses were lost ; and falling into 
a lethargic slumber, she gently expired, in the seventieth 
year of her age, and the forty-fifth of her reign. 

So dark was the cloud which overspread the evening of 
that day, whose meridian splendour dazzled the eyes of 
Europe. The vigour, firmness, penetration, and address of 
Elizabeth, have not been surpassed by any person that 
ever filled a throne ; but a conduct less imperious, more 
sincere, and more indulgent to her people, would have 
been requisite to form a complete character. Her heroism 
was exempt from rashness, her frugality from avarice, and 
her activity from the turbulence of ambition ; but the ri- 
valship of beauty, the desire of admiration, the jealousy of 
love, and the sallies of anger, were infirmities from which 
she guarded not herself with equal care or equal success. 
When we contemplate her as a woman, we are struck with 
the highest admiration of her great qualities and extensive 
capacity ; but we perceive a want of that softness of dis- 
position, that lenity of temper, and those amiable weak- 
nesses by which her sex is distinguished and adorned. 
Few sovereigns of England succeeded to the throne in 
more difficult circumstances ; and none ever conducted 
die government with such uniform success. Her wise 
ministers and brave warriors share the praise of her suc- 
cess ; but, instead of lessening, they increased the applause 
which she justly deserves. They owed their advance- 
ment to her judgment and discrimination. 

The maxims of her government were highly arbitrary ; 
but these were transmitted to her by her predecessors ; 
and she believed that her subjects were entitled to no more 
liberty than their ancestors had enjoyed. A well regu- 
lated constitutional balance was not yet established ; and 
it was not without many severe struggles, and some dread- 
ful convulsions, that the people w^ere allowed the blessings 
of liberty. 



JAMES I. 265' 

CHAP. XIII. 
Reign of James I. 

The crown of England passed from the family of Tudor 
to that of Stuart with the utmost tranquillity. In James's 
journey from Edinburgh to London, all ranks flock- 
ed around him, allured by the interest of curiosity ; . * ^' 
and he was so well pleased with the flow of affec- 
tion which appeared in his new subjects, that in six weeks 
after his entrance into the kingdom, he conferred the hon- 
our of knighthood on no few^er than two hundred and thir- 
ty-seven persons, besides -raising several from inferior to 
higher dignities ; and among the rest, the Scottish cour- 
tiers were thought to be especially favoured. 

It must be confessed, however, that James left almost all 
the chief offices in the hands of Elizabeth's ministers, and 
intrusted the conduct of political concerns to his English 
subjects. Among these, Cecil was successively created 
lord Efiingdon, viscount Cranbourne, and earl of Salisbury, 
and regarded as prime minister and chief counsellor. A 
secret correspondence into which he had entered with 
James, during the latter years of Elizabeth's reign, laid the 
foundation of Cecil's credit ; and while all his former as- 
sociates, sir Walter Raleigh, lord Grey, and lord Cobham, 
were discountenanced on account of their animosity against 
Essex, this minister was continued in his employment, and 
treated with the greatest confidence and regard. 

Amidst the great tranquillity, both foreign and domes- 
tic, which the nation enjoyed, nothing could be more un- 
expected that the discovery of a conspiracy to subvert the 
government, and to place on the throne Arabella Stuart, 
a near relation of the king's, and equally descended from 
Henry the Seventh. Sir Walter Raleigh, one of the prin- 
cipals in the plot, contrary to all laws and equity, was found 
guilty by a jury ; but he was reprieved, not pardoned^ 
and he remained in confinement for many years. 

The rehgious disputes between the church and the puri- 
tans, which had been continually increasing ever since the 
reformation, induced the king to call a conference at 
Hampton-court, on pretence of finding expedients 
which might reconcile both parties. The dispo- t^J^.' 
sition of James, however, had received a strong bias ^^^^' 



266 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

against the puritanical clergy in Scotland ; and he showed 
the greatest propensity to the established church, and fre- 
quently inculcated as a maxim, no bishop, no king. 

The severe, though popular government of Elizabeth, 
had confined the rising spirit of liberty within very nar- 
row bounds ; but when a new and foreign family succeeded 
to the throne, and a prince less dreaded and less beloved, 
principles of a more independent nature appeared in the 
nation. The king, however, told the parliament, «< that 
all their privileges were derived from his grant, and hoped 
they would not turn them against him." James of his 
own accord annulled all the numerous patents for mono- 
polies ; but the exclusive companies still remained, and 
almost all the commerce of England centered in London, 
the trade of which was confined to about two hundred ci- 
tizens. 

One of the most memorable events recorded in history is 
the "Gunpowder Plot." The Roman catholics had ex- 
pected great favour from James ; and they were surprised 
and enraged to find that, on all occasions, he expressed his 
intention of strictly executing the laws against them. 
Catesby, a gentleman of an ancient family, first thought 
of a most extraordinary method of revenge, which was to 
destroy at one blow, the king, the royal family, the lords, 
and the commons, by running a mine below the hall in 
which the parliament assembled, and choosing the very 
moment in which the king harangued both houses. This 
diabolical scheme he communicated to Percy, a descendant 
of the illustrious house of Northumberland, who was 
charmed with the project ; and they agreed cautiously to 
enlist some other conspirators, and sent over to Flanders 
in quest of one Guy Fawkes, an officer in the Spanish ser- 
vice, with whose zeal and courage they were well -ac- 
quainted. 

The conspirators bound themselves by oath of secrecy, 

which they confirmed by receiving the sacrament together ; 

and they hired a house in the name of Percy, adjoining 

that in which the parliament assembled. Finding that a 

vault under the house of lords was to let, they seized the 

opportunity of renting it, and deposited in it thir- 

1605 ty-six barrels of powder, which they covered with 

* faggots and billet-wood. The doors of the cellar 

were then boldly thrown open, as if it contained nothing 



JAMES I, 



26? 



dangerous, and, confident of success, the conspirators now 
j;)lanned the remaining part of their project. 

The king, the queen, and prince Henry, were all ex- 
pected to be present at the opening of the parliament ; but 
as the duke, by reason of his tender age would necessarily 
be absent, it was resolved to assassinate him. The prin- 
cess Elizabeth, a child likewise, was kept at lord Harring- 
ton's house in Warwickshire ; and it was determined to 
Seize that princess and proclaim her queen. 

Though more than twenty persons were engaged in this 
conspiracy, the dreadful secret had been sacredly kept 
nearly a year and a half No remorse, no pity, no fear of 
punishment, or hope of reward, had induced any conspira- 
tor either to abandon the enterprise, or discover the plot. 
A few days, however, before the meeting of parliament, 
lord Monteagle, a catholic, and son to lord Morley, receiv- 
ed the following letter, from an unknown hand.* 

" My lord, out of the love I bear to some of your friends, 
I have a care of your preservation. Therefore I would 
advise you, as you tender your life, to devise some excuse 
to shift off your attendance in this parliament. For God 
and man have concurred to punish the wickednesa of this 
time. And think not slightly of this advertisement ; but 
retire yourself into your country, where you may expect 
the event in safety. For though there be no appearance 
of any stir, yet, I say, they will receive a terrible blow this 
parliament, and yet they shall not see who hurts them. 
This counsel is not to be contemned, because it may do 
you good, and can do you no harm : for the danger is past, 
as soon as you have burned the letter. And I hope God 
will give you the grace to make good use of it, unto whose 
holy protection I commend you." 

Monteagle, as well as SaUsbury, to whom he com- 
municated it, considered the letter as a foolish attempt to 
frighten ; but, from the serious and earnest manner in 
which it was written, James conjectured that it implied 

* There is strong reason to beheve that this letter was sent b/ 
Mary, eldest daughter of lord Morley, sister to lord Monteagle, 
and wife of Thomas Abington, Esq. of Henslip, in the countjr of 
Worcester. Affection for her brother prompted the warning, 
while love for her husband, who was privy to the conspiracy, sug" 
gestedsucb means as were best calculated to prevent bia detect- 
tion. 



"268 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

something dangerous and important ; and the enigmati- 
cal but strong expressions used in the epistle, seemed to 
denote some contrivance by gunpowder.* In consequence, 
it was determined to inspect all the vaults under the house 
of parliament ; but the search was purposely delayed till 
the day before the meeting of parhament. This care be- 
longed to the earl of Suffolk, lord Chamberlain, who re- 
marked the great piles of wood and faggots in the vault 
under the upper house ; and he observed Fawkes in a 
corner, who passed himself as Percy's servant. About mid- 
night, sir Thomas Knevet, with proper attendants, entered 
the vault ; and after seizing Fawkes, he removed the faggots, 
and discovered the powder. The matches and other pre- 
parations for setting the whole on fire, were found in the 
pockets of Fawkes, who, seeing it useless to dissemble, 
boldly expressed his regret that he had lost the opportu- 
nity of firing the powder at once, and of sweetening his 
own death by that of his enemies. Before the council he 
displayed the same intrepidity, and refused to discover his 
accomplices ; but being confined in the Tower, and left to 
reflect on his guilt and danger, his courage failed in a few 
days, and he made a full discovery of the conspirators, who 
never exceeded the number of eighty. They all suffered 
death by one way or other ; and horrible as the crime was, 
the bigoted catholics regarded some of them as martyrs. . 

At this time, James seems to have possessed the affec- 
tions of his English subjects and of the parliament. His 
learning, which w^as not despicable, obtained him the name 
of the second Solomon. All his efforts, however, for an 
union between England and Scotland proved ineffectual, 
on account of the national antipathy by which the English 
parliament was governed ; and he could procure only an 
abolition of the hostile laws which had been formerly enact- 
ed between the two kingdoms. 

The house of commons began now to feel themselves of 
such importance, that on the motion of sir Edwin Sandys, 
they entered for the first time, an order for the regular 
keeping of their journals. 

In the following session, the lord-treasurer, Dorset, laid 

* James might probably be led to this conclusion from recol- 
iecting the catastrophe of his father. Mavor. 




Discovery of Guy Fawkes. 




Death of Richard the Third. 



JAMES L 269 

Open the king's necessities, but the commons refused to 
reUeve them ; and James received the mortification 
of discovering in vain, all his wants, and of asking ^ * ' 
the aid of his subjects, who seemed determined to 
diminish the power of the crown. Inheriting all the high 
notions of regal government that had marked the reigns of 
Henry and Elizabeth, James was continually employed in 
endeavouring to preserve the prerogatives which former 
sovereigns had enjoyed, but which a more enlightened age 
and a less obsequious parliament deemed absolutely neces- 
sary to circumscribe. In his first parliament, which sat 
nearly seven years, frequent attacks were made on the roy- 
al prerogative ; and the king displayed all his exalted no- 
tions of monarchy and the authority of princes ; but the 
principles which these popular attempts developed, and 
which opposition served only to increase, at last overturn- 
ed the throne, and plunged the nation into confusion. 

In promoting the civilization of Ireland, James pro- 
ceeded on a regular and well concerted plan ; and he found 
it necessary to abolish the ancient customs, which supplied 
the place of laws. By the Brehen custom, every crime, 
however enormous, was punished by a pecuniary fine. This 
rate was caileC eric. When the Enghsh had formed the 
design of sending a sheriflTinto Fermanagh, Maguire, a chief 
of that district, replied, " Your sheriff shall be welcome 
to me ; but let me know beforehand his eric, or the price 
of his head, that if my people cut it off, I may levy the 
money on the county." Small offences were subject to no 
penalty ; and in this horrible state of society, the efiferis 
of James to produce amehoration were highly deserving of 
praise. In the room of savage institutions, he substituted 
Enghsh laws ; took the natives under his protection, and 
declared them free citizens ; and governed the kingdom by 
a regular administration, mihtary as well as civil. 

This year, the sudden death of Henry, prince of Wales, 
in the eighteenth year of his age, diffused a general grief 
throughout the nation. Neither his high birth nor 
his youth had seduced him into any irregularities : '^'Ji' 
business and ambition were his sole delight ; and ^"^^• 
his inclinations as well as exercises were martial. The 
French ambassador, taking leave of him, and asking his 
commands for France, found him employed in the exercise 
of the pike : *' Tell your king," said he, " in whatoccupa- 



270 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

tion you left me engaged." He had conceived great a'ffeC? 
tion and esteem for sir Walter Raleigh, who was prisoner 
in the Tower. " Surely," observed he, *' no king but my 
father would keep such a bird in a cage." 

The marriage of the princess Elizabeth with Frederic, 
elector palatine, served to dissipate the grief which arose 
from that melancholy event ; but this marriage, though 
happy to the nation in its remote and ultimate conse- 
quences, was unfortunate both to the king and his son-in- 
law. The elector, trusting to so great an alliance, engaged 
in enterprises beyond his strength ; and the king, not being 
• able to support him in his pretensions, lost entirely, to- 
wards the end of his life, the affection and esteem of his 
own subjects. 

The history of this reign is more properly a history of 
the court than of the nation. About the end of the year 
1609, Robert Carre, a youth of twenty years of age, and 
of a good family in Scotland, arrived in London, and was 
introduced to the English court. The charms of his per- 
son and the elegance of his manners soon won the affec- 
tions of James, who successively knighted him, created 
him viscount Rochester, and gave him the garter. In sir 
Thomas Overbury, this minion met with a judicious and 
sincere counsellor ; and so long as he was governed by his 
friendly counsels, he enjoyed the highest favour of his so- 
vereign, without being hated by the people. Intoxicated, 
however, by his good fortune, Rochester found means to 
seduce the affections of the young countess of Essex, daugh- 
ter of the earl of Suffolk, though she rejected the embraces 
of her husband ; and in spite of the remonstrances of Over- 
bury, a divorce was procured, and a marriage solemnized 
between the two adulterers. On this occasion, the king so 
far forgot the dignity of his character, and his friendship to 
the family of Essex, that, lest the lady should lose any rank 
fey her new marriage, he created his minion earl of Somerset. 
The countess, however, was not satisfied till she could 
satiate her revenge on Overbury, who had been committed to 
the Tower, at the instance of Somerset, for disobeying an or- 
der of the king. She engaged her husband, as well as her 
uncle, the earl of Northampton, in the atrocious design of 
deistroying him secretly by poison. Fruitless attempts 
were reiterated by weak doses ; but at last they gave him 
one so sudden and violent, that the symptoms were appa? 



JAMES I. 271 

rtent to every one who approached him ; and though a 
strong suspicion prevailed in the public, the full proof of 
the crime was not brought to light for some years after. 

The fatal catastrophe of sir Thomas Overbury increased 
or begat a suspicion that the prince of Wales had been 
carried off by poison, given him by Somerset ; and the 
king was not spared amidst the just imputations thrown on 
his favourite. 

A new parliament was again summoned, after every ex- 
pedient had been tried to relieve the king's necessities; even 
to the sale vif baronetages and peerages ; but that 
assembly, instead of entering on the business of sup- -i'n-i^ 
ply, as urged by the king, began with disputing his 
majesty's power of levying new customs as.d impositions, 
by the mere authority of his prerogative. The king, with 
great indignation, dissolved the parliament, without ob- 
taining the smallest supply to his necessities ; and he im- 
prisoned some of the members, who had been most for- 
ward in their opposition to his measures ; and though he 
valued himself highly on his king-craft, he openly at his ta- 
ble inculcated those monarchical principles which he had 
strongly imbibed. Among other company, there sat at 
table two bishops, Neile and Andrews. The king publicly 
proposed the question, whether he might not take his sub- 
jects' money when he needed it, without all this formality 
of parliament ? The obsequious Neile replied, " God for- 
bid you should not ; for you are the breath of our nostrils." 
Andrews declined answering ; but when the king urged 
him, he pleasantly observed, " i think your majesty may 
lawfully take my brother Neile's money, for he offers." 

The favourite had hitherto escaped the inquiry of jus- 
tice ; but conscious of the murder of his friend, he became 
sullen and silent ; and the king began to estrange himself 
from a man who no longer contributed to his amusement. 
The enemies of Somerset seized the opportunity of throw- 
ing a new minion in the king's way, in the person of 
George Villiers, a youth of one and twenty, who was im- 
mediately raised to the office of cup-bearer, in the mean 
time, Somerset's guilt in the murder of sir Thomas Over- 
bury was fully discovered ; and James, alarmed and aston- 
ished at such enormous guilt in a man whom he had so 
highly honoured, recommended a most rigorous scrutiny. 
All the accomplices received the punishment of death ; but 

24 



272 HISTORY OF ENGLAND, 

the king bestowed a pardon on the principals, Somerset 
and tlie countess : and after some years imprisonment, he 
restored them to their liberty, and they languished out 
their old age in infamy and obscurity. 

The fall of Somerset opened the way for Villiers, who, 
in the space of a few years, by rapid advances, was at last 
created duke of Buckingham, knight of the garter, master 
of the horse, and lord high-admiral of England, wiih other 
honourable appointments. His mother obtained the title 
of countess of Buckingham ; his brother was created vis- 
count i'urbec ; and a numerous train of needy relations 
were all invested with credit and authority. 

Sir Walter Raleigh had been imprisoned for thirteen 
years ; and men had leisure to reflect on the hardship and 
injustice of his sentence. They pitied his active and en- 
terprising spirit, which langmshed in the rigours of confine- 
ment ; and tht y admired his extensive genius, no less than 
his unbroken magnanimity. To increase these favourable 
dispositions, on which he built the hopes of recover- 
IfilR ^"^ ^^^^ liberty, Raleigh spread the report of a rich 
gold mine, which he had discovered in Gumna. 
The king gave little credit to the tale, but released him 
from the Tower, without pardoning him, and suffered him 
to try the adventure. 

Raleigh had declared that the Spaniards had planted no 
colonies on that part of the coast where this mine lay ; but 
it had happened, that, in a space of twenty-three years, 
which had elapsed since he had last visited that region, 
they had formed a settlement on the river Oronooko, and 
built a tov^n called St. Thomas. To this place Raleigh 
directly bent his course, and sent a detachment under the 
command of his son, and of captain Kemys, an oflicer en- 
tirely devoted to him. The Spaniards who had expected 
this invasion, fired on the En?;hsh at their landing, were 
repulsed, and pursued into the town. Young Raleigh re- 
ceived a shot, of which he immediately expired ; but the 
town was carried, and afterwards reduced to ashes. Re- 
mys, who owned that he was within two hours' march of 
the mine, returned to Raleigh with the melancholy news of 
his son's death ; and, despairing of the success of the en- 
terprise, he retired to his cabin, and put an end to his life. 

i he «)ther adventurers now concluded, that they were 
deeeived by Raleigh ; and thinking it safest to return imme- 



JAMES I. 273 

diately to England, they carried him with Iheni. The 
privy council pronounced that Raleigh had abused the 
kino's confidence ; and the court of Spain raising loud com- 
plaints against him, the king made use of that power which 
he had purposely reserved in his own hands, and signed 
the warrant for the execution upon his former sentence. 

Raleigh, finding his fate inevitable, collected all his 
courage and resolution. As he felt the edge of the axe 
with which he was to be beheaded, " 'Tis a sharp remedy," 
he said, " but a sure one for all ills." His harangue to 
the people was calm and eloquent ; and, with the utmost 
indifference, he laid his head on the block, and received 
the fatal blow. 

The execution of this sentence, which was at first hard, 
and which had been so long suspended, gave general dis- 
satisfaction ; and it was rendered still more invidious and 
un])opular by the intimate connexions entered into with 
Spain. Godemar, the Spanish ambassador, in order to 
withdraw the attention of James from Germany, had of- 
fered the second daughter of Spain in marriage to prince 
Charles, with an immense fortune. The bait took ; and 
though the states of Bohemia, inspired with the love of 
civil and religious liberty, had taken up arms against the 
emperor Ferdinand, and tendered their crown to Frederic, 
elector palatine, probably on account of his connexion 
wiih England, James refused to lend any assistance to his 
son-in-law, and Frc deric, being defeated in the great and 
decisive battle of Prague, was driven from the palatinate, 
and ried with his family into Holland. 

High were now the murmurs and complaints against the 
inactive disposition of the king, who flattered himself, that 
after he had formed an intimate connexion with 
the Spanish monarch, by means of his son's mar- '^^qq 
riage, the restitution of the palatinate might be pro- 
cured, from motives of friendship alone. 

At this time the great seal was in the hands of Francis 
Bacon, lord Verulam, a man universally admired for the 
sublimity of his genius ; but his want of economy, and his 
indulgence to servants, involved him in necessities ; and he 
received bribes which rendered him obnoxious to censure. 
Being impeached by the commons, the peers sentenced 
him to pay a fine of forty thousand pounds, to be impris- 
oned in the Tower during the king's pleasure, and to be 



274 HISTORY ©F ENGLAKB. 

for ever incapable of holding any office, place or employ- 
ment. Bacon, however, was soon released from prison, 
the fine was remitted, and, in consideration of his great 
merit, a pension of eighteen hundred pounds a-year was 
conferred upon him ; and his literary productions have 
made his guilt or weakness be forgotten or overlooked by 
posterity. 

In the mean time, the commons entreated his majesty, 
that he would immediately undertake the defence of the 
palatinate ; that he would turn his arms against Spain ; 
and that he would enter into negotiations for a marriage 
with his son only with a protestant princess. This seem- 
ing invasion of his prerogative highly incensed James, who, 
in a letter to the speaker, sharply rebuked the house for 
debating on matters far above their capacity, and forbade 
them to meddle with any subject that regarded his govern- 
ment. This latter inflamed the commons, who, after ano- 
ther ineffectual remonstrance, framed a protestation, in 
which they repeated all their claims for freedom of speech, 
and an unbounded authority to interpose with their advice 
and counsel. They asserted that the liberties, franchises, 
privileges, and jurisdictions of parliament, are the ancient 
and undoubted birthright of the subjects of England. 
This protestation the king himself tore from the journals ; 
and, after committing some of the leading members of the 
house to the Tower, he finally dissolved the parliament. 
These struggles, between prerogative on the one hand, 
and privilege on the other, terminated only with the over- 
throw of the monarchy, under the unfortunate Charles the 
First. 

In vain did James, by reiterated proclamations, forbid the 
discussing of state affairs. Such proclamations, as might 
naturally be expected, served rather to inflame the curios- 
ity of the public. The efforts of Frederic for the 
Ifi29 ^^^^^^^y *^^ ^is dominions were vigorous, but inef- 
.* fectual ; and James now persuaded his son-in-law to 
disarm, and to trust to his negotiations. To show, howev- 
er, the estimation in which James's negotiations were held 
abroad, in a farce acted at Brussels, a courier announced 
that the palatinate would soon be wrested from Austria, as 
succours from all quarters were hastening to the relief of 
the despoiled elector : the king of Denmark, he said, had 
agreed to contribute to his assistance one hundred thousand, 



JAMES I. 275 

pickled herrings ; the Dutch, one hundred thousand butter 
boxes ; and the king of England, one hundred thousand 
ambassadors. On other occasions, James was depicted 
wiih a scabbard, but without a sword ; or with a sword, 
which no one could draw, though several were pulling at it. 

In order to remove all obstacles to the match between 
the infanta of Spain and prince Charles, James despatched 
tiie earl of Bristol to Philip IV. ; all matters were adjust- 
ed, and the dispensation from Rome only was wanting, 
when this flattering prospect was blasted by the temerity 
of Buckingham. 

A coolness between this favourite and the prince of 
Wales had taken place ; and Buckingham, desirous of an 
opportunity which might connect him with Charles, and 
also envious of the great credit acquired by Bristol, pro- 
posed a journey of courtship to Madrid. The young and 
ardent mind of the prince eagerly embraced the scheme ; 
and the king was prevailed on to grant his consent to the 
undertaking, though not without much reluctance and ap- 
prehension of the result. 

The prince and Buckingham, with their attendants, 
passed disguised and undiscovered through France ; and 
they even ventured into a court-ball at Paris, where Charles 
saw the princess Henrietta, whom he afterwards espoused, 
and who was at that time in the bloom of youth and beau- 
ty. In eleven days after their departure from London, 
they arrived at Madrid, and surprised every one by a step 
so unusual among great princes. The Spanish monarch 
treated Charles with the utmost respect and the most flat- 
tering attentions ; but the infanta was only shown to her 
lover in public, the estabUshed etiquette not allowing any 
farther intercourse till the arrival of a dispensation from 
Rome. The king of England, as well as the prince, be- 
came impatient ; and the latter having taken his leave, em- 
barked on board an English fleet, and returned to England, 
Charles had endeared himself to the whole Spanish nation, 
by whom he was beloved and esteemed ; while Buckings 
ham, by his indecent freedoms and his dissolute pleasures, 
had rendered himself universally despised and hated. 
Through the intrigues of Buckingham, who dreaded the 
influence of the Spaniards in England after the arrival of 
the infanta, the match was broken off"; and James was in^ 
duced to abandon a project which, during many years, 

24* 



276 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

had been the object of his wishes, and which had been 
brought near to a happy conclusion. 

The king, having thus involuntarily broken with Spain, 
was obhged to summon a parliament, in order to procure 
the necessary supplies ; and in that assembly, Buck- 
1624 ^''^S^^'^ threw all the blame on the court of Spain, 
* which he accused of artifice and insincerity. The 
parhament advised the king to break off both treaties with 
Spain, as well that which regarded the marriage, as that 
for the restitution of the palatinate. The supply, how- 
ever, was voted with parsimony ; and to it were annexed 
conditions, which trenched on the prerogative, but which 
at last produced legitimate liberty. 

After the rupture with Spain, a treaty of marriage be- 
tween the prince of Wales and Henrietta of France was 
speedily concluded ; but military enterprises were ex- 
tremely disagreeable to James, whose disposition 
^ * * incapacitatea him for war. The English nation, 
however, were bent on the recovery of the palati- 
nate ; and an army of twelve thousand foot and two hun- 
dred horse, under the command of count Mansfeldt, were 
embarked at Dover ; but so ill had the expedition been 
concerted, that half of the troops died on board by a pesti- 
lential disorder, before they were permitted to land, and 
the other half, weakened by sickness, appeared insufficient 
to march mto the palatinate. 

James, who had zealously cultivated the arts of peace, 
did not long survive the commencement of hostilities. He 
was seized with a tertian ague, aud finding himself gradu- 
ally becoming weaker, he sent for the prince, whom he ex- 
horted to bear a tender regard for his wife, but to preserve 
a constancy in religion, to protect the church of England, 
and to extend his care to the unhappy family of the pala- 
tine. With decency and fortitude he .prepared himself for 
his end ; and he died in the fifty-ninth year of his age, after 
a reign over England of twenty-two years and some days. 

In the annals of nations, it would be difficult to find a 
reign less illustrious, yet more unspotted and unblemished 
than that of James. No prince so little enterprising and 
so inoffensive, was ever so much exposed to the opposite 
extremes of calumny and praise ; and his character has 
been much disputed even in the present time. It must 
be owned, however, that he possessed many virtues, though 



CHARLES I. 277 

scarcely one of them was free from the contagion of the 
neighbouring vice. His generosity bordered on profusion, 
his learning on pedantry, his pacific disposition on pusil- 
lanimity, and his wisdom on cunning. While he imagined 
that he was only maintaining his own authority, he may 
perhaps be suspected of having somewhat encroached on 
the hberties of the people. His intentions were just, but 
more adapted to the conduct of private life, than to the 
government of kingdoms. 

He was married to Anne of Denmark, who died in 1619, 
eminent neitlier for her vices nor her virtues ; and he left 
only one son, Charles, then in the twenty-fifth year of his 
age ; and one daughter, Elizabeth, married to the elector 
palatine. 

At this period high pride of family prevailed ; and great 
riches acquired by commerce, were rare. Civil honours, 
which now hold the first place, . were then subordinate to 
the military ; and the young gentry and nobility, were 
fond of distinguishing themselves by arms. The country 
life, which still prevails in England to a certain degree, 
was just beginning to give way to a fondness ior the seduce- 
ments of the city ; and James discouraged as much as pos- 
sible this alteration of manners. " He was wont to be 
very earnest," lord Bacon tells us, "with the country gen- 
tlemen to go from London to their country seats ; and 
sometimes he would say to them, Gentlemen, at London 
you are like ships in a sea, which show like nothing ; but 
in your country villages, you are like ships in a river, which 
look like great things." 

The amount of the king's revenue in this reign was 
about four hundred and fifty thousand pounds ; and iiis or- 
dinary disbursements are said to have exceeded this sum 
thirty-six thousand pounds. 



CHAP. XIV. 

The reign of Charles I. 

No sooner had Charles assumed the reins of go- 
vernment than he issued writs for summoning a '^\ ^/ 
new parliament, which, after the arrival of the prin- ^^^^^• 
cess Henrietta, whom he had espoused by proxy, assem- 



278 HISTORt OF ENGLAND. 

bled at Westminster. The young prince addressed them 
in the language of simplicity and cordiality ; but the com- 
mons, though aware of the expenses of government, and 
that the war was undertaken in compliance with their 
earnest entreaties, granted a supply of one hundred and 
twelve thousand pounds only. The puritanical party were 
disgusted with the court, on account of the restraints un' 
der which they were held, and of the favour suspected to 
be granted to the catholics by the treaty of marriage. To 
the moderate supplies allowed by parliament, were tacked 
concessions in favour of civil liberty ; and Charles, who 
had imbibed high ideas of monarchical power, and of the 
prerogative of the crown, could ill brook any encroach- 
ments on his authority, or any want of attention to his rea- 
sonable demands. 

Though he condescended to employ entreaties with the 
parliament, in order to obtain the necessary aid, the com- 
mons remained inexorable ; and a new discovery inflamed 
them against the court and the duke of Buckingham. 
When James courted the aUiance with France, he had 
promised to furnish Lewis with eight ships, which were to 
be employed against the Genoese, the allies of Spain ; but 
when the vessels by the orders of Charles arrived at 
Dieppe, a strong suspicion arose that they were intended 
to serve against the Hugonots of Rochelle. The sailors 
were inflamed ; and Pennington, their commander, de- 
clared, that he would rather be hanged in England for dis-^ 
obedience, than fight against his brother protestants in 
France. The whole squadron sailed immediately to the 
Downs, where they received new orders from Bucking- 
ham, lord admiral, to return to Dieppe ; and a report was 
industriously spread, that a peace had been concluded be- 
tween the French king and the Hugonots. When they 
arrived at Dieppe, they found themselves deceived, and 
again returned to England, notwithstanding the magnifi- 
cent offers of the French. 

On this occasion the commons renewed their complaints 
against the growth of popery ; and Charles gave a gra^ 
cious and compliant answer to their remonstrances ; but 
when he found that the parliament was resolved to grant 
him no supply, he. used the pretence of the plague to dis- 
solve the assembly. 

To supply the want of parliamentary aids, Charles had 
recourse to the unconstitutional and unpopular expedient 



CHARLES I. 270 

©f issuing privy-seals, for borrowing money of his subjects ; 
and, by means of the money thus procured, he equipped a 
fleet of eighty vessels, carrying ten thousand men, which 
sailed to Cadiz under sir Edward Cecil, lately created vis- 
count Wimbleion. The bay was full of Spanish ships of 
great value ; but owing to some neglect or misconduct, 
and the plague breaking out among the seamen and sol- 
diers, the fleet was obliged to return to England without 
effecting any thing. 

Charles having failed in this enterprize, was again obliged 
to have recourse to a parliament ; and though he 
had nominated four popular leaders, to be sheriffs ^nqc 
of their respective counties, and by that means had 
incapatiated them from being elected members, the fer- 
ment of opposition still continued. The commons, indeed, 
voted a supply ; but the passing of that vote into a law was 
reserved till the end of the session ; and they annexed a 
condition, that they should be allowed to regulate and con- 
trol every part of the government which displeased them. 
Great dissatisfaction was expressed by Charles at this 
treatment ; but his urgent necessities obliged him to submit. 

The duke of Buckingham, formerly obnoxious to the 
public, became every day more unpopular ; and the house 
of commons impeached him of various crimes and misde- 
meanors. While the commons were thus engaged, the 
lord-keeper, in the king's name, expressly commanded the 
house not to meddle with Buckingham ; and Charles 
threatened them that if they did not furnish him with sup- 
plies, he should be obliged to try new counsels. Two mem- 
bers, who had been employed as managers of the impeach- 
ment, were thrown into prison. The commons immedi- 
ately declared, that they would proceed no farther upon 
busmess till they had satisfaction in their privileges. 
Charles was obliged to release the imprisoned members ; 
and this attempt served only to exasperate the house still 
more. The commons were preparing a remonstrance 
against the levying of tonnage and poundage without con- 
sent of parliament, when the king, with intemperate haste, 
ended the session ; and they parted in mutual iil-humoijr. 

The new counsels, with which Charles had menaced 
the parliament, were now adopted : a commission was 
openly granted to compound with the catholics, and agree 
for dispensing with the penal laws enacted against them ; 



280 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

from the nobility assistance was requested, and from the 
city a loan required ; and the maritime towns, with the 
aid of the adjacent couniies, were « ompelled to equip a 
certain number of ships. This is the first appearance in 
Charles' reign of ship-money, a mode of taxation which 
afterwards produced such violent discontents. 

Though these irregular and unequal expedients would 
have given disgust in more tranquil times, yet Charles pro- 
ceeded in these invidious methods with some degree of mo- 
deration, till at last, under the name of a general loan, he 
levied a sum equal to four subsidies. Many, however, re- 
fused these loans ; and some were even active in encourag- 
ing others to insist on their common rights and privileges. 
Several were thrown into prison by warrant of the council. 
Of these, sir Thomas Darnel, sir John Corbet, sir Walter 
Earl, sir John Heveningham, and sir Edmund Hampden, 
had spirit enough, at their own hazard and expense, to de- 
fend the public liberties, and to demand releasement, not 
as a favour from the court, but as a matter of right. 

The question was brought to a solemn trial before the 
court of King's Bench ; but though sir Randolph Crew, 
chief justice, had been displaced as unfit for the purposes 
of the court, and sir Nicholas Hyde, esteemed more obse- 
quious, had obtained that high office, yet the judges went 
no farther than to remand the gentlemen to prison, and to 
refuse the bail which was offered. The nation, indeed, 
was already exasperated to a very high degree, by a varie- 
ty of real grievances ; and except a few courtiers and ec- 
clesiastics, all men were dissatisfied vrith the measures of 
government, and thought that if some remedy were not 
speedily adopted, all hopes of preserving the freedom of 
the constitution might be abandoned. 

Great, however, was the surprise, when Charles, though 
baffled in every attempt against Austria, embroiled with 
his own subjects, and unsupplied with any treasure except 
what he extorted by the most invidious and most danger- 
ous measures, wantonly attacked France, the other great 
kingdom in his neighbourhood. This rash action is jas- 
cribedto the counsels of Buckingham. 

When Charles married by proxy the princess Henrietta, 
this minister and minion had been sent to France, to grace 
the nuptials, and conduct the new queen into England. The 
beauty of his person, the elegance of his manners, and the 



ghar4.es I. 281 

splendour of his equipage, occasioned general admiration. 
Encouraged by the smiles of the court, he carried his ad- 
dresses to the queen of Lewis ; and, after his departure, 
he secretly returned, and visiting the queen, was dismissed 
with a reproof which savoured more of kindness than of 
anger. The vigilance of Richelieu soon discovered this 
correspondence ; and when the duke was making prepara- 
tions for a new embassy to Paris, a message was sent him, 
that his presence would not be agreeable. In a romantic 
fit of passion, he swore, "that he would see the queen 
in spite of all the power of France ;" and from that mo- 
ment, he determined to engage England in a war with that 
kingdom. 

lie first took advantage of some quarrels excited by the 
queen of England's attendants ; and he persuaded Charles 
to dismiss all her French servants, contrary to the articles 
of the marriage-treaty. He encouraged the English ships 
of war and privateers to seize vessels belonging to French 
merchants ; and these he forthwith condemned as prizes, 
by a sentence of the court of admiralty ; but finding that 
these injuries produced only remonstrances, or at most 
reprisals, on the part of France, he resolved to second the 
intrigues of the duke of Soubize, and to undertake a mili- 
tary expedition against that kingdom. 

Soubize, and his brother, the duke of Rohan, were the 
leaders of the Hugonot faction, and strongly solicited the 
assistance of Charles. Accordingly, a fleet of one hundred 
sail, and an army of seven thousand men, were intrusted 
to the command of Buckingham ; but when the fleet ap- 
peared before Rochelle, the inhabitants of that city refused 
to admit aUies of whose arrival they had received no pre- 
vious information, and Buckingham sailed to the isle of 
Rhe, where he landed his men. He finally returned to 
England with the loss of two thirds of his land forces, and 
with no other credit than the vulvar one of courai^e and 
personal bravery. 

Great discontents, as might be expected, prevailed 
among the English people. I'heir liberties were menaced ; 
illciial taxes extorted ; their commerce, which had been 
already injured, was totally annihilated by the French war ; 
the military reputation of the nation had been tarnished by 
two unsuccessful and ill-conducted expeditions ; and all 
these calamities were ascribed to the obstinacy of Charles, 



282 HISTORY OF ENGLANB. 

in adhering to the counsels of Buckingham, whose services 
and abilities by no means deserved such unlimited confi- 
dence. 

In this situation of men's minds, the king and 

1628 ^^® duke dreaded the assembling of a parliament ; 
* but the money levied, or rather extorted, under 
colour of prerogative, had been very slowly procured, and 
had occasioned much ill-humour in the nation : and as it 
appeared dangerous to renew the experiment, and a supply 
was absolutely necessary, it was resolved to call a parlia- 
ment. When the commons assembled, it was soon found 
that they were men ot the same independent spirit with 
their predecessors, and that the resentment for past inju- 
ries was neither weakened nor forgotten. The court party 
did not pretend to defend the late measures, in order to 
procure money, except on the ground of necessity, to 
which the king had been reduced by the conduct of the 
two former parhaments ; and a vote was passed, without 
opposition, against arbitrary imprisonments and forced 
loans. In return for this concession, a supply of five sub- 
sidies was voted, with which ihe king declared himself 
satisfied ; and even tears of affection started in his eye, 
when he was informed of this liberality. 

But the supply, though voted, was not immediately 
passed into a law ; and the commons resolved to employ 
the interval in providing some barriers to their rights and 
liberties, so lately violated. They enumerated all the en- 
croachments that had been made on their constitutional 
liberties, under the name of a " petition of right ;" and 
against these grievances an eternal remedy was to be pro- 
vided. The terms in which this petition was expressed, 
seem to have been just and reasonable, yet favourable to 
public freedom ; but Charles, though he had given his 
consent to any law for securing the rights and liberties of 
the people, 'had not expected such inroads on the preroga- 
tive, in regard to which he was a great stickler ; and it 
was not without much difficulty, and many evasions, that 
the royal assent was obtained to a measure which diffused 

a general joy through the nation. 

Nothmg tended more to excuse, if not justify, the ex- 
treme rigour of the commons towards Charles, than his open 
encouragement, and avowal of prin.iples incompatible w iiha 
limited government. One doctor Mainwaring had preached 



CHARLES I. 283 

and printed a sermon subversive of all civil liberty ; and 
the commons impeached hiiii for the doctrines it contain- 
ed. Mainwaring was sentenced by the peers to be impris- 
oned during the pleasure of the house, to be fined a thou- 
sand pounds, to be suspended for three years, and to be 
rendered incapable of holding any ecclesiastical dignity or 
secular office. However, no sooner was the session ended, 
than Mainwaring was pardoned, and promoted to a living 
of considerable value, and, some years after, raised to the 
see of St. Asaph. This action sufficiently showed the in- 
=;incerity of Charles in his late concessions. 

If, however, the king had been perfectly sincere in 
sanctioning the petition of right, it was evident that the 
commons w^ould still have been dissatisfied. They contin- 
ued to carry their scrutiny into every part of government ; 
and they expressly declared, that the levying of tonnage 
and poundage without consent of parliament, was a palpa- 
ble violation of the ancient liberties of the people, and an 
open infringement of the petition of right. In order to 
prevent the presenting of this remonstrance, the king came 
suddenly to the parliament, and ended the session by a 
prorogation. 

Freed from the vexation of this assembly, Charles began 
to look towards foreign wars. A considerable fleet and 
army had been prepared for the relief of Rochelle, and 
Buckingham had gone to Portsmouth, to hasten the sailing 
of the armament. Whilst at that place, one Felton, of an 
ardent and melancholy mind, who had served under the 
duke, and had retired in discontent from the army, in- 
flamed with private resentment, and taught by a remon- 
strance of the commons to consider Buckingham as the 
cause of every national grievance, fancied that he should 
do heaven acceptable service, by despatching this foe to 
religion and to his country. Accordingly, as the duke, in 
a narrow passage, was engaged in conversation with colo- 
nel sir Thomas Fyar, he was on a sudden, over sir Thom- 
as's shoulder, struck on the breast with a knife, which he 
pulled out, saying, " the villain has killed me," and with 
these words breathed his last. 

No one had seen the blow, nor the person who inflicted 
it ; but near the door was found a hat, in which were four 
or five lines of the remonstrance of the commons, declaring 
Buckingham %n enemy to the kingdom ; and it was readily 

2^ 



284 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

concluded that this hat belonged to the assasdn. In thi^ 
confusion, a person without a hat was seen walking very 
composedly before the door ; and one crying out, " Here 
is the fellow who killed the duke," every body ran to ask, 
"which is heV on which Felton answered, "I am he." 
When questioned at whose instigation he had committed 
the horrid deed, he rephed, that no man living had credit 
enough with him, to have disposed him to such an action, 
and that believing he should perish in the attempt, his 
motives would appear in his hat. 

Charles received the melancholy news of the death of 
his favourite with an unmoved countenance ; but he re- 
tained during his whole life, an affection for Buckingham's 
friends, and a prejudice against his enemies. Meanwhile, 
the distress of Rochelle had raised to the utmost extrem- 
ity ; and the English being unable to relieve the place, the 
inhabitants, pressed by famine, were obliged to surrender 
at discretion. 

Though for more than a century the duties of tonnage 

and poundage had been considered as the king's 
.' * due, without the sanction of parliament, and had 

been so levied, yet Charles, now freed from the 
violent counsels of Buckingham, in the opening of this ses- 
sion, informed the commons, that he had not taken these 
duties as appertaining to his hereditary prerogative, but as 
a gift of his people, and that he had levied tonnage and 
poundage out of necessity, and not by any right he assum- 
ed. This concession gave a temporary satisfaction ; but 
the commons could not be pleased ; and as soon as they 
had obtained one point, they immediately found another to 
contend for. Matters of rehgion now formed the only 
grievance to which, in their opinion, they had not applied 
a sufficient remedy by their petition of right. The pres- 
ent house of commons, like all the preceding, in the pre- 
sent and two former reigns, was governed by the puritani- 
cal party ; and they thought that they could not better 
serve their cause, than by stigmatizing and punishing the 
followers of Arminius, some of whom, by the indulgence 
of James and Charles, had attained the highest prefer- 
ments in the hierarchy. Laud, Neile, Montague, and 
other bishops, who were the chief supporters of episco- 
pacy, were also supposed to be tainted with Arminianism. 



CHARLES I. 28^ 

These men were regarded by the puritans as objects of 
enmity and distrust, as well on account of their political 
as their rehgious principles ; but they were protected by 
Charles, who wisely considered, that the most sohd basis 
of his authority consisted in the support which he receiv- 
ed from the hierarchy. 

Sir John Elliott framed a remonstrance against levying 
tonnage and poundage without consent of parliament ; 
but when the question was called for. Sir John Finch, the 
speaker, said, " that he had a command from the king to 
adjourn," and immediately rose and left the chair. The 
whole house was in an uproar ; and the speaker was pushed 
back into the chair, and forcibly held in it, by Hollis and 
Valentine, till a short remonstrance was framed, and 
passed by acclamation. By it, papists and Arminians were 
declared capital enemies to the commonwealth ; and those 
who levied, and even those who paid tonnage and pound- 
age, were branded with the same epithet. By the king's 
order, the mace was taken from the table, and thus ended 
their proceedings ; and a few days after, the parliament 
was dissolved. Sir Miles Hobart, sir Peter Hayman, 
Seldon, Coriton, Long, and Strode, were committed to 
prison, on account of the last tumult in the house, which 
was called sedition ; and it was with great difficulty, and 
after several delays, that they obtained their release. Sir 
John Elliot, Hollis, and Valentine, were condemned by the 
court of King's Bench, for their seditious speeches and be- 
haviour in parliament, to be imprisoiied during the king's 
pleasure, and to pay heavy fines. These gloried in their 
sufferings, and would not condescend to petition the 
king, and express their sorrow, though promised liberty 
on that condition ; and Elliot, happening to die while 
in custody, was regarded as a martyr to the liberties of 
England. 

Charles, destitute of all regular supply, was reduced to 
the necessity of concluding a peace with France and Spain, 
No conditions were made in favour of the palatine, 
except that Spain promised in general to use its ^^c^r^ 
good offices for his restoration. The influence of 
these two wars on domestic affairs, and on the dispositions 
of the king and people, was of the utmost consequence ; 
but they caused no alteration in the foreign interests of 



2^6 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

the kingdom, which were at this time in the most prosper- 
ous condition. 

After the death of Buckingham, the queen may be cou 
sidered as the chief friend and favourite of Charles. B\ 
her sense and spirit, as well as by her beauty, she justified 
the partiahty of her husband ; but her religion, to which 
she was much attached, increased the jealousy which pre- 
vailed against the catholics and the court. 

Charles had endeavoured to gain the popular leaders, 
by conferring offices upon them ; but the views of the 
king were so repugnant to those of the puritans, that the 
leaders whom he gained, lost from that moment all influ- 
ence with their party. This was the case with sir Thomas 
Wentworth, whom the king had afterwards created earl of 
Strafford, made president of the council of York, and 
deputy of Ireland, and who was regar ed as his chief-min- 
ister and counsellor. By his emincEt talents and abili- 
ties, Strafford merited all the confidence which his master 
reposed in him ; but as he now employed all his counsels 
to support the prerogative, which he had formerly endea- 
voured to diminish, he was detested by the puritans. In 
all ecclesiastical affairs, Laud, bishop of London, had the 
greatest influence over the king. He was a man of virtue 
and talents ; but he wanted prudence, and a flexibility of 
character, to open a way through diffictrities and opposi- 
tions. His whole study was to exalt the dignity of the 
priesthood ; but he weakly imagined, that this would be 
best effected by the introduction of new ceremonies and 
observances, and a strict regard to the external forms of 
religion ; and the discontented puritans affected to consid- 
er the church of England as relapsing fast into Romish 
superstition. Certain, however, it is, that Laud magnified, 
on every occasion, the regal authority, and treated with 
disdain all pretensions to a free constitution. 

Charles issued a proclamation, declaring, that " though 
his majesty has shown, by frequent meetings with his peo- 
ple, his love to the use of parliaments ; yet the late abuse 
having, for the present, driven him unwillingly out of that 
course, he will account it presumption for any one to pre- 
scribe to him any time for the calling of that assembly." 
This was generally considered as a declaration, that 
Charles did not intend to summon any more parliaments ; 



CHARLES I. 287 

and every measure of the king's tended to confirm this' 
suspicion, so disagreeable to the people. 

Tonnage and poundage continued to be levied by the 
royal authority alone ; and the king had recourse to va- 
rious unconstitutional expedients of raising money by virtue 
of his prerogative, in every possible way, contrary not only 
to the rights of the people, but in many instances also in 
direct opposition to their general feelings and prejudices. 
The severities of the star-chamber and high commis- 
sion court were revived, with allth^ir force and malignity ; 
and being exercised against those who were the champions 
of freedom, and who triumphed in their sufferings, the go- 
vernment became still more odious. Prynne, a barrister, 
having written a book, intituled Histrio-Mastyx, in which 
he censured not only stage-plays, music and dancinsf, but 
also hunting, pubhc festivals, Christmas-keeping, bonfires, 
and Maypoles, was mdicted in the star-chamber as a libel- 
ler, merely because the kinu and the queen frequented the 
theatres, and the queen sometimes acted a part in pastorals 
and interludes represented at court. The star-chamber 
sentenced him to lose both his ears, to stand in the pillory, 
to pay a fine of five thousand pounds, and to be imprison- 
ed during life. This man was a champion among the pu- 
ritans ; and it was probably with a view of mortifying that 
sect, that he was condemned to such a severe and ignomi- 
nious punishment. 

Charles made a journey to Scotland, attended by the 
court, in order to hold a parliament there, and to 
pass through the ceremony of his coronation. Af- ^' ®' 
ter his return, on the death of archbishop Abbot, ^^^^• 
he conferred the see of Canterbury on Laud, and that of 
London on Juxton, a person of great integrity, mildness, 
and humanity. 

Ship-money was now levied by virtue of the prerogative " 
and though the amount of the whole tax little exceeded two 
hundred thousand pounds, and was equally as- 
sessed, and entirely expended on the navy, yet as ^'^* 
it was wholly arbitrary, the discontents it excited, ^' 
and the irregular means by which it was enforced, pro- 
duced the most important consequences. The good effects 
of a navy, however, were soon apparent, A fleet of sixty 
sail attacked the herring fisheries of the Patch, whp gon- 

25* 



288 HISTORY OF ENOLAND- 

sented to pay thirty thousand pounds for a license for one 
year ; and a squadron was sent against Sallee, and de- 
stroyed that receptacle of pirates, by whom the English 
commerce, and even the English coasts, had been long in- 
fested. 

Burton, a divine, and Bastwick, a physician, were tried 
in the star-chamber for seditious and schismatical libels, 
and condemned to the same punishment as Prynne. The 
rigours of the star-chamber, which had increased in severi- 
ty since the promotion of Laud, induced the leaders of the 
puritans to endeavour to ship themselves off for America, 
where others of their sect had laid the foundation of a free 
government ; but the council, dreading the consequences 
of a disaffected colony, a proclamation was issued to pre- 
vent their sailing ; and thus sir Arthur Haselrig, John 
Hampden, John Pym, and Oliver Cromwell, were detain- 
ed in England, after having embarked on board of vessels 
in the river Thames, for the purpose of abandoning their 
native country for ever. 

It would be impossible, in this short work, to enter into 
a detail of the various means employed for abridging or 
destroying the few remaining liberties of the people. It 
may be sufficient to observe, that the unconstitutional acts 
of Charles, and the oppression which was universally felt, 
produced murmurs and complaints, and at length resistance. 

John Hampden, who had been detained in England 
against his will, has deserved well of his country for the 
bold stand which he made in defence of its laws and hber- 
ties. Rather than tamely submit to so illegal an imposi- 
tion as the levying of ship money, he resolved to abide the 
event of a legal prosecution, though the sum in which he 
was rated did not exceed twenty shillings. The case was 
argued during twelve days, in the exchequer-chamber, be- 
fore all the judges of England ; and the attention of the 
nation was strongly excited to every circumstance of this 
celebrated trial. The event was easily foreseen ; the pre- 
judiced judges, with the exception of four of them, gave 
sentence in favour of the crown. Hampden, however, 
obtained by the trial the end for which he had generously 
sacrificed his safety and his quiet : the people were roused 
from their lethargy, and became fully sensible of the dan- 
ger t© which their liberties were exposed. 



CMARLESI. 28S 

In tkis state of discontent and despondency, Charles at- 
tempted to introduce episcopacy into Scotland ; and by 
this attempt, he alienated the affections of his Scottish sub- 
jects, and threw both kingdoms into a flame. Against the 
combination of the Scots, who were contending for what 
they considered as dearer to them than life, the king 
had nothing to oppose but a proclamation. This .Agj,* 
was instantly encountered by a public protestation ; 
and the insurrection which had been advancing by a gradu- 
al and slow progress, now blazed up at once. No disorder, 
however, attended it. On the contrary, a new order im- 
mediately took place. Four tables, as they were called, 
were formed in Edmburgh. One concisted of nobility, 
another of gentry, a third of ministers, and a fourth of bur- 
gesses. In the hands of the four tables the whole authori- 
ty of the kingdom was placed ; and among the first acts of 
their government was the production of the covenant. 

This covenant consisted, first, of a renunciation of po- 
pery, formerly signed by James in his youth ; and this was 
followed by a bond of union, by which the subscribers 
obliged themselves to resist religious innovations, and to 
defend each other against all opposition whatever. Peo- 
ple of every rank and condition hastened to sign this cov- 
enant ; and so general was ihe contagion, that it seized the 
very ministers and counsellors of the king. 

Charles was now willing entirely to abolish the canons^ 
the liturgy, and the high commission court ; and he gave 
authority to summon first an assembly, then a parliament, 
where every national grievance should be redressed ; but 
he wished on. any terms to retain episcopacy in the church 
of Scotland. The covenanters saw that it would be ne- 
cessary to retain their religious tenets by mihtary force ; 
and the Dutch and French, who sought occasion for re- 
venge, on account of a former misunderstanding, secretly 
fomented the commotions in Scotland, and supphed the 
covenanters with money and arms. The principal re- 
source, however, of the Scottish malcontents, was in their 
own vigour and abilities. The earl of Argyle became the 
chief leader of the party ; and Leslie, a soldier of experi- 
ence and merit, was intrusted with the command of their 
forces. 

Notwithstanding Charles's aversion to sanguinarj^ mea^ 



^90 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

Sures, his attachment to the hierarchy prevailed ; and he 
equipped a fleet, and levied a considerable army, which he 
joined himself at Berwick. Dreading, however, the con-^ 
sequences of a defeat, he suddenly concluded a peace, by 
which it was stipulated, that he should withdraw his fleet 
and army, that the Scots should dismiss their forces, that 
the king's authority should be acknowledged and that a 
general assembly and parliament should be immediately 
convoked, in order to cc^mpose all differences. 

When the assembly met, they voted episcopacy to be 
unlawful in the church of Scotland : Charles was only 
willing to allow it to be contrary to the constitutions of the 
church. I'hey stigmatized the liturgy and canons as po- 
pish : he agreed simply to abolish them. They denomin- 
ated the high commission tyranny : he was content to set 
it aside. The parliament, which sat after the assembly, 
advanced pretensions which tended to diminish the civil 
power of the monarch ; and they were proceeding to ratify 
the acts of the assembly, when they were prorogued by 
the order of Charles. And on account of these claims, 
which might have been foreseen, the war was renewed 
with great advantage on the side of the covenanters, and 
disadvantages on that of the king. 

The covenanters, when they dismissed their troops, had 
cautiously warned them to be ready at a moment's notice : 
and the religious zeal with which they were inspi- 
^AjQ red, made them fly to their standards as soon as 
summoned ; but the king with great difficulty, 
drew together an army ; which he soon discovered that he 
was unable to support. Charles, therefore, found himself 
under the necessity of calling a parliament, after an inter- 
mission of eleven years ; but after the king had tried many 
irregularmethodsof taxation, and after multiplied disgusts 
given to the puritans, who sympathised with their discon- 
tented brethren in Scotland ; above all, when he consider- 
ed the spirit with which former parliaments had been ac- 
tuated, he could feel little confidence in a measure which 
his necessities had obliged him to adopt. Instead of sup- 
plies, he was assailed with murmurs and complaints. 
Charles, finding that ship-money in particular gave great 
alarm and disgust, declared that he never intended to make 
^ constant revenue of it, and that all the money leried had 




Elizabeth. 



James L 




Charles I. 




Charles IL 



James 11. 



CHARLES i, 291 

been faithfully applied ; and he offered a total renuncia- 
tion of that obnoxious claim, by any law which the com- 
mons might think proper to frame. In return, he only 
asked a supply of twelve subsidies, about six hundred 
thousand pounds ; and that payable in three years. 

To the partisans of the court, who urged a reasonable 
confidence in the king, and a supply of his present wants, 
the popular leaders replied, that it was the ancient prac- 
tice of parliament to give grievances the precedency of 
supply ; and that by bargaining for' the remission of an 
unconstitutional duty, they would in a manner ratify the 
authority by which it had been levied. These reasons, 
joined to so many causes of ill-humour, produced their 
effect on the majority ; and some affirmed, that the amount 
of twelve subsidies was a greater sum than could be found 
in all England. Such were the happy ignorance and in- 
experience of those times, in regard to taxation ! 

The king, seeing that the same principles still prevailed., 
which had occasioned him so much disturbance in the for- 
mer parliaments, and being informed that a vote was about 
to pass, which would blast his revenue of ship-money, with- 
out allowing him any compensation in return, formed the 
hasty resolution of dissolving the assembly, a measure of 
which he soon after heartily repented, and for which he 
was severely blamed. 

Charles, disappointed of parliamentary subsidies, wa? 
obliged to have recourse again to his usual expedients ; 
and new exactions and acts of assumed authority served 
only to increase the general discontent. With some diffi- 
culty, he collected sufficient means for marching his army^ 
consisting of nineteen thousand foot, and two thousand 
horse, under the earls of Northumberland and Strafford., 
and lord Conway. The Scottish army, which was some- 
what superior, had already entered Eugland, -as they pre- 
tended, with no other view than to obtain access to tije 
king's presence, and to lay their hi mble petition at hi.« 
feet. At Newburn upon Tyne, a detachment under Con^ 
way seemed to dispute the passage of that liver The 
Scots first entreated them not to stop them m t 
to their gracious sovereign ; and then attacked 
great bravery, killed several, and ceased the 
from their ground. Such a panic t]fr^ Fti/f;^ 



292 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

English army, that the forces at Newcastle fled immediate^ 
ly to Durham, and afterwards into Yorkshire. 

The Scots took possession of Newcastle ; and, in order 
to prevent their advancing upon him, the king agreed t© 
a treaty, and named sixteen English noblemen, who were 
all popular men, to meet eleven Scottish commissioners 
at Rippon. 

An address arrived from the city of London, petitioning 
for a parliament ; and Charles, in despair of being able to 
stem the torrent, at last determined to yield to it, and de- 
clared that it was his wish to meet the representatives of 
his people. As many difficulties occurred in the negotia- 
tion with the Scots, it was proposed, likewise, to transfer 
the treaty from Rippon to London, a proposal willingly 
embraced by the commissioners of that nation, who were 
sure of treating with advantage, in a place where the king 
would have more enemies and they more friends. 

The causes of disgust which, for more than thirty years, 

had been multiplying in England, were now arrived at full 

maturity. No sooner had the house of commons 

A. D 

-A^ * assembled, than they impeached Strafford, wh© 
had incurred the resentment of the three kingdoms, 
by different services rendered to his unpopular master. 
Pym enumerated all the grievances under which the na- 
tion laboured ; and after several hours spent in invective 
or debate, the impeachment of Strafford was voted ; and 
Pym was chosen to carry it up to the lords. Strafford, 
who had just entered the house of peers, was immediately 
ordered into custody, with symptoms of violent prejudice 
in his judges, as well as in his prosecutors. 

An impeachment of high-treason was also voted against 
Laud, who was committed to custody ; and the lord-keep- 
er Finch, and secretary Windebank, were charged with 
the same crime t but these ministers, conscious of their 
danger, escaped to the Continent. In short, all the offi- 
cers and servants of the crown, who had been guilty of any 
obnoxious or oppressive measure, were called upon to an^ 
'ver for their conduct ; and even the judges, who had 
" vote against Hampden, in the trial of ship- 
re accused before the peers, and obliged to find 
r their appearance. 

-'' ' ' the wholQ sovereign power w?is 



CHARLES I. 



203 



transferred to the commons ; and this was the time when 
genius and talents, freed from the restraint of authority, 
began to display themselves. Pym, Hampden, St. John, 
Hollis, and Vane, greatly distinguished themselves by 
their various endowments ; and even men of more mode- 
rate talents, and of different principles, caught a portion 
of the same spirit from the situation in which they were 
placed. 

The harangues of members, now first published, kept 
alive the discontents against the king's administration ; 
and the sentence against Prynne, Bastwick, and Burton, 
being reversed by parhament, these writers were again 
turned loose upon the public, and increased the general 
ferment. 

From necessity, the king remained entirely passive du- 
ring these violent proceedings. ' You have taken the whole 
machine of government to pieces,' said Charles, in a speech 
to parliament ; ' a practice frequent with skilful artists, 
when they desire to clean the wheels from any rust which 
may have grown upon them.' ' The engine,' continued 
he, * may again be restored to its former use and motions, 
provided it be put up entire, so as not a pin of it be want- 
ing.' But this was far from the intention of the commons, 
who, like all violent reformers, destroyed the whole ma- 
chine, instead of removing only such parts as might justly 
be deemed superfluous and injurious. 

The commons, besides overawing their opponents, 
thought it necessary to encourage their friends and adhe- 
rents ; and, with this view, they voted the Scots a subsist- 
ence of eight hundred and fifty pounds a day, and St. An- 
tholine's church was assigned them for their devotions, 
where their chaplains began to practise the presbyterian 
form of worship, to which multitudes of all ranks resorted. 
The most effectual expedient for procuring the favour of 
the zealous Scots, was the promotion of the presbyterian 
discipline and worship throughout England ; and to this 
innovation the popular leaders among the commons, as 
well as their more devoted partisans, were sufficiently in- 
clined. 

Petitions against the church were framed in different 
parts of the kingdom ; and a bill was introduced, prohi- 
biting the clergy from holding any civil office, and o^ 



294 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

course depriving the bishops of a seat in the house of peers. 
This bill, however, was rejected in the upper house by a 
great majority ; but the puritans, far from being discouraged 
by this opposition, immediately brought in another bill for 
the total abolition of episcopacy, though they thought pro* 
per to suffer it to sleep till a more favourable opportunity. 

The commons next issued orders for demohshing alL 
images, altars, and crucifixes ; and so great was the ab- 
horrence against the latter, that some of the most zealous 
would not suffer one piece of wood or stone to lie over 
another at right angles. Most of the established ceremo* 
nies of religious worship, and the ordinary vestments of its 
ministers, were considered as savouring of popery ; and 
the professors of that religion, in particular, were treated 
with the utmost harshness and indignity, from which the 
queen-mother, who had been obliged by some court in- 
trigues to retire to England, and even the queen herself, 
were not exempt. 

Charles, finding by experience the ill effects of his arbi- 
trary measures, now endeavoured to regain the confidence 
of his people, by concessions and a conformity to their in- 
clinations. He passed a bill, by which the right of granting 
the duties of tonnage and poundage was asserted as be-^ 
longing to the commons alone ; and with some difficulty he 
consented to a law for triennial parliaments, which was 
clogged with such conditions, that the legitimate power 
of a king \vas reduced almost to a shadow. A change of 
ministers, as well as measures, was also resolved on ; and 
in one day several new^ privy-counsellors were sworn, all 
of the popular party. 

The end on which the king was most intent in changing 
his ministers was, to save the life of the earl of Strafford ; 
but the impeachment of that unfortunate nobleman was 
pushed on with the utmost vigour ; and, after long and 
solemn preparations, was brought to a final issue. Twenty- 
eight articles were exhibited against him ; but though four 
months had been employed by the managers, and all 
Strafford's answers were extemporaneous, it appears from 
comparison, that he was not only guiltless of trea- 
'£.* ' son, but in some degree free from censure, if we 
make allowance for human infirmities exposed to 
such difficult circumstances. The accusation and defence 



CHARLES I. ♦ 295 

lasted eighteen days, during which Strafford conducted 
himself with a degree of firmness, moderation, and wisdom, 
that extorted the admiration of his most bitter enemies ; 
but the commons were determined to convict him ; and, 
therefore, on the most incompetent evidence, or rather 
against usual legal evidence, the bill of attainder passed 
with no greater opposition than that of fifty-nine votes. 

After the bill had passed the commons, the puritanical 
pulpits resounded with the necessity of executing justice 
on great delinquents ; about six thousand armed men sur- 
rounded the houses of parliament ; and the populace, 
worked up to a degree of frenzy by their leaders, flocked 
round Whitehall, where the king resided, and accompa- 
nied their demands against Strafford with the most open 
menaces. 

About eighty peers had constantly attended Strafford's 
trial ; but such were the apprehensions of the popular tu- 
mults, that only forty-five were present when the bill of 
attainder was brought into the upper house ; yet of these, 
nineteen had the courage to vote against it. On which- 
ever side the king cast his eyes, he saw no resource or se- 
curity. All his servants, consulting their own safety, 
rather than their master's honour, declined to interpose 
their advice between him and his parliament ; and the 
queen, terrified with the appearance of so great a danger, 
pressed him to satisfy his people in this demand. Juxton 
alone, whose courage was not inferior to his other virtues, 
counselled the king not to act contrary to his conscience. 

Strafford, hearing of the irresolution and anxiety of 
Charles, wrote to the king, and with a noble effort of mag- 
nanimity, entreated him, for the sake of public peace, to 
put an end to his unfortunate, however innocent hfe, and 
to quiet the tumultuous populace, by granting the request 
for which they were so importunate. " In this," added 
he, " my consent will more acquit you to God than all the 
world can do besides. To a willing man there is no in- 
jury." 

After suffering the most agonizing conflicts, Charles at 
last granted a commission to four noblemen to give his as- 
sent to the bill ; and he also empowered them, at the same 
time, to sanction a bill which was still more fatal to his 

26 



296 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

interests, and by which the parliament could neither be 
adjourned nor dissolved without their own consent. 

Secretary Carleton was sent by the king to inform Straf- 
ford of the final result ; and the unhappy earl at first ap- 
peared surprised ; but soon collecting his native courage, 
he prepared for the fatal event, which was to take place 
after an interval of three days. During this period, Charles 
endeavoured to obtain from the parliament a mitigation of 
his sentence, or at least some delay, but was refused both 
requests. 

Strafford, in passing from his apartments to Tower-hill, 
where the scaffold was erected, stopped under Laud's win- 
dows, and entreated the assistance of his prayers. The 
aged primate, dissolved in tears, pronounced a tender 
blessing on his departing friend, and sunk into the arras of 
his attendants. Strafford, however, still superior to his 
fate, passed on with an elated countenance, and an air of 
dignity ; and his mind maintained its unbroken resolution 
amidst the terrors of death, and the unfeeling exultations 
of his misguided enemies. His speech on the scaffold 
was replete with fortitude and christian hope, and at one 
blow he was launched into eternity. 

Thus perished, in the forty-ninth year of his age, one of 
the most eminent personages that has appeared in England, 
and the most faithful of the adherents of Charles ; but his 
death was so far from producing that calm which the king 
had expected from the sacrifice, that the commons renew- 
ed their claims, extorted an abolition of the high commis- 
sion and star-chamber courts, and remedied various other 
abuses which militated against the principles of constitu- 
tional freedom. 

During this busy period, the princess Mary had been 
married to William, prince of Orange, with the approba- 
tion of parliament. A small committee of both houses was 
appointed to attend the king into Scotland, which he had 
resolved to visit ; and Charles, despoiled in England of a 
considerable part of his authority, arrived in Scotland only 
to abdicate the small share which remained to him in that 
kingdom. 

Charles, unable to resist, had been obliged to yield to 
the Irish, as well as to the Scottish and English parlia- 



CHARLES I. 297 

ments ; and the commons of England, jealous of a stand- 
ing army in Ireland, entirely attached to the king, pre- 
vailed on his majesty, contrary to his own judgment, to 
disband it. 

Though the animosity of the Irish against tlie English 
nation appeared to be extinguised, they were no sooner 
freed from the dread of a military force, than a gentleman, 
called Roger More, formed the project of expeUing the 
Enghsh, and asserting the independence of his native 
country. This man maintained a close correspondence 
with lord Maguire and sir PheUm O'Neale, the most pow- 
erful of the old Irish ; and he secretly went from chieftain 
to chieftain, and roused up every latent principle of dis- 
content, rhe reasons of More engaged all the heads of 
the native Irish in the conspiracy. The insurrection be- 
came general ; and a massacre of the English commenced, 
in which, when it took place, neither age, sex, nor condi- 
tion, was spared. The old, the young, the vigorous, and 
the mfirm, underwent a like fate, and were confounded in 
one common ruin. In vain was recourse had to relations 
or friends ; the dearest ties were torn asunder without pity 
or remorse ; and death was dealt by that hand, from which 
protection was implored and expected. 

Death, however, was the slightest punishment inflicted 
by the Irish. All the tortures which wanton cruelty could 
devise, all the hngering pains of body, and anguish of 
mind, which malicious mgenuity could invent, were now 
put in practice ; and the generous nature of More was 
shocked at the recital of such enormous cruelties ; but 
he found that his authority, though sufficient to excite the 
Irish to an insurrection, was unable to restrain their inhu- 
manity. 

The saving of Dublin alone preserved in Ireland the 
remains of the Enghsh name. The gates of that city., 
though timorously opened, received the wretched suppli- 
cants, and presented to the view a scene of human misery 
beyond description. Diseases of unknown name and spe- 
cies, derived from their multiplied distresses, seized many, 
and put a period to their hves ; others, having now leisure 
to reflect on their severe loss of friends and fortune, cursed 
that being which they had preserved. 

Charles found himself obliged in this exigency to have 



JdB HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

recourse to parliament ; but that assembly manifested ilw 
same opposition to the king in which they had separated ; 
and the increasing of their own authority, and the dimi- 
nishing of the regal power, were the objects still pursued. 
By assuming the total management of the war in Ireland, 
they deprived the crown of its executive power ; and it 
was even roundly insinuated, that the pernicious counsels 
by which Charles had been guided, had given rise to the 
popish rebellion. 

To render the attack on royalty more systematic, the 
commons framed a general remonstrance of the state of 
the nation, comprising every real or supposed grievance, 
from the accession of Charles ; and this was published 
without being carried up to the house of peers for their as- 
sent and concurrence. 

This violent measure extremely agitated the sober and 
reflecting ; and Charles immediately published an answer 
to the remonstrance, in which he made the warmest pro- 
testations of his sincere attachment to the established re- 
ligion, expatiated with truth on the great concessions he 
had lately made in favour of civil liberty, and complained 
of the reproaches with which his person and government 
were attacked ; but the ears of the people were prejudiced 
against him, and nothing he could offer appeared to them 
a sufficient apology for his former misconduct. 

The commons resumed their encroachments ; and 
every measure pursued by them showed their determined 
resolution to reform the whole fabric of civil and religious 
government. The majority of the peers, of course, ad- 
hered to the king, and saw the depression of their own or- 
der in the usurpations on the crown; but some of them, 
finding their credit high with the nation, ventured to en- 
courage those popular disorders, which they vainly ima- 
gined they could hereafter regulate and control. 

The pulpits resounded with the dangers which threatened 
religion ; and the populace crowded round Whitehall, and 
threw out menaces against Charles himself. Several gen- 
tlemen now offered their services to the king ; and between 
them and the rabble frequent skirmishes took place. By 
way of reproach, these gentlemen gave the nobihty the 
appellation of Roundheads, on account of the short crept 
hair which thev wore ; and the latter retorted by calling 



CHARLES I. 



299 



tiiem Cavaliers, Thus the nation, ah'eady sufficiently 
divided by religious and civil disputes, was supplied with 
party names, under which the factious might rendezvous 
and signalize their mutual hatred. 

Williams, archbishop of York, having been abused by 
the populace, hastily called a meeting of his brethren, and 
prevailed on them to state in an address to the king, that 
though they had an undoubted right to sit in parliament, 
they could no longer attend with safety, and therefore pro- 
tested against all laws which should be made during their 
absence. This ill-timid protestation afforded an oppor- 
tunity of joy and triumph to the commons. An impeach- 
ment of high-treason was immediately sent up against the 
bishops, as endeavouring to invalidate the authority of the 
legislature ; and, in consequence, they were sequestered 
from parliament, and committed to custody. 

A few days after, Charles was betrayed into a very 
fatal act of indiscretion, to which all the ensuing 
disorders and civil wars ought immediately and ^A^^ 
directly be ascribed. Imputing the increasing in- 
solence of the commons to his too great facility, he was 
advised to exert the vigour of a sovereign, and punish the 
daring usurpations of his subjects. Accordingly, Herbert, 
attorney-general, appeared in the house of peers, and, in 
his majesty's name, entered an accusation of high-treason 
against lord Kimbolton, and five commoners, Hollis, Hasel- 
rig, Hampden, Pym, and Strode, for having endeavoured 
to subvert the fundamental laws and government of the 
kingdom, and to alienate the affections of the people. A 
sergeant-at-arms, in the king's name, demanded of the 
house the five members ; and being sent back without any 
positive answer, Charles resolved next day to go in person 
to the house, and see his orders executed. 

The members informed of the design, had time to with- 
draw, a moment before the king entered, who, leaving his 
retinue at the door, advanced alone through the lobby ; 
and the speaker withdrawing, his majesty took possession 
of the chair. The king told the house, that he must have 
the accused persons produced, but that he would proceed 
against them in a fair and legal way. The commons were 
in the utmost disorder ; and when Charles was departing; 



300 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

some members cried aloud "privilege! privilege!" and 
the house immediately adjourned till next day. 

The same evening, the accused members removed int(* 
the city ; and the citizens were the vi^hole night under arms. 
Next morning, Charles ordered the lord-mayor to summon 
a common-council, which he attended himself, and told 
rhem, that he had accused certain men of high-treason, 
against whom he would proceed in a legal way, and there- 
fore, presumed that they would not meet with protection 
in the city. After many gracious expressions, he left the 
hall without receiving the applause which he expected ; 
and, in passing through the streets, he heard the cry of 
"'• privilege of parliament," resounding from all quar- 
ters. 

The king, apprehensive of personal danger, retired to 
Hampton-court, overwhelmed with grief, shame, and re- 
morse. Fully sensible of his imprudence, he wished to 
waive all thoughts of a prosecution, and offered any repa- 
ration to the house for the breach of privilege, of which, 
he acknowledged, they had reason to complain. The 
parliament, however, were resolved to accept of no satis- 
faction. 

Hitherto a great majority of the lords had adhered to 
the king, but they now yielded to the torrent ; and the 
pressing bill, with its preamble, and the bill against bish- 
ops voting in parliament, were now passed. The queen 
prevailed with Charles to give his assent to these bills, in 
hopes of appeasing for a time the rage of the people, and 
of gaining for her an opportunity of withdrawing into Hol- 
land. 

These concessions, however, only paved the way for 
more demands ; and the parliament proceeded with hasty 
steps to monopolize all the legislative and executive pow- 
er. That his consent to the militia-bill might not be ex- 
torted by violence, the king retired to York, attended by 
his two sons. Here he found a zeal and attachment to 
which he had not been lately accustomed ; and from all 
parts of England, the chief nobility and gentry offered 
their allegiance, and exhorted him to save himself and 
them from the slavery with which they were threatened. 

Each party now wished to throw on the other the odium 
of commencing a civil war ; and while both prepared for 



CHARLES I. 301 

an event which they deemed inevitable, the war of the 
pen preceded that of the sword, and daily sharpened the 
humours of the opposite parties. Here Charles had a dou- 
ble advantage. Not only his cause was now unquestiona- 
bly the best ; but it was defended by lord Falkland, who 
had accepted the office of secretary, and who adorned the 
purest virtue with the richest gifts of nature, and the most 
valuable acquisitions of learning. 

It was evident, however, that keener weapons than ma- 
nifestoes, remonstrances, and declarations, must deter- 
mine the dispute. To the ordinance of the parliament 
concerning the militia, the king opposed his commissions 
of array ; and the counties obeyed the one or the other, 
according as they stood aftected. . Hull contained a large 
magazine of arms ; and it being suspected that sir John 
Hotham, the governor, was not much inclined to the par- 
liament, the king presented himself before the place, in 
hopes of quietly obtaining possession of it. The governor, 
however, shut the gates, and refused to admit the king 
with only twenty attendants. Charles immediately pro- 
claimed him a traitor ; but the parliament justified and 
applauded the action. 

Both sides now levied troops with the utmost activity. 
The parliamentary army was given to the earl of Essex, 
and in London no less than four thousand persons enlisted 
in it in one day. The splendour of nobility, however, 
with which the king was surrounded, much eclipsed the 
appearance at Westminister. Lord-keeper Littleton, and 
above forty peers of the first rank, attended Charles ; 
while the house of lords seldom consisted of more than six- 
teen members. The parliament, in order that they might 
reduce the king to despair of a compromise, sent him their 
demands in nineteen propositions ; but they appeared so 
extravagant, that Charles replied, " Should 1 grant these 
demands, I may be waited on bare-headed ; the title of 
majesty may be continued to me ; but as to true and real 
power, I should remain but the outside, but the picture, 
but the sign of a king." War on any terms seemed to the 
king and his counsellors preferable to such ignominious 
conditions ; and, therefore, collecting some forces, he ad- 
vanced southward, and at Nottingham erected the royal 
standard, the open signal of civil war. 

When two names so sacred in the English constitution 



302 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

as those of King and Parliament were set in opposition, 
it is no wonder that the people, divided in their choice, 
were agitated with the most violent animosities and fac- 
tions. The nobility and more considerable gentry, dread- 
ing a total subversion of order, generally enlisted them- 
selves in defence of the king ; while most of the corpora- 
tions, as being republican in their principles of government, 
took part with the parliament. 

Never was a quarrel more unequal, than seemed at first 
that between the contending parties ; almost every advan- 
tage lay on the side of the parliament, which had seized 
the king's revenues, and converted the supplies to their 
own use ; and the torrent of general affection ran also to 
the parliament. The king's adherents were stigmatized 
with the epithets of "wicked and malignani ; while their 
adversaries were denominated the godly and well-qff^ected. 

The low condition in which the king appeared at Not- 
tingham, where his infantry, besides the tramed bands of 
the county, did not exceed three hundred, and his cavalry 
eight hundred, confirmed the contempt of the parliament. 
Their forces stationed at Northampton consisted of above 
six thousand men, well armed aad appointed ; and had 
these troops advanced upon the king, they must soon have 
dissipated the small force which Charles had assembled ; 
but it was probably hoped, that the royalists, sensible of 
their feeble condition, and slender resources, would dis- 
perse of themselves, and leave their adversaries a blood- 
less victory. 

On a message being sent by Charles, with overtures for 
an accommodation, the parliament demanded as a prelim- 
inary that the king should dismiss his forces, and give up 
delinquents to their justice ; and both parties believed, 
that by this message and reply, the people would be ren- 
dered fully sensible of the intentions of each. 

In the mean time, Portsmouth, which had declared for 
the king, was obliged to surrender to the parliamentary for- 
ces ; and the marquis of Hertford, whom Charles had ap- 
pointed general of the western counties, and had drawn 
together a small army, being attacked by a considerable 
force under the earl of Bedford, was obhged to pass over 
into Wales, leaving sir Ralph Hopton, sir John Berkley. 



CHARLES I. 303 

and others, with about one hundred and twenty horse, to 
march into Cornwall. 

The parliamentary army, amounting to fifteen thousand 
men, under the earl of Essex, now advanced to Northamp- 
ton ; and the king withdrew to Shrewsbury, where,he made 
a public declaration of his resolution to maintain the esta- 
bhshed rehgion, and to govern in future by the laws and 
customs of the kingdom. While he lay at Shrewsbury, he 
received the news of the first action of any consequence, 
which had yet taken place, and in which he was success- 
ful. 

On the appearance of civil commotions in England, the 
princes Rupert and Maurice, sons of the unfortunate pa- 
latine, and nephews of Charles, had offered their services 
to the king ; and the former, at that time, commanded a 
body of horse, which had been sent to Worcester, in order 
to watch the motions of Essex, who was marching towards 
thai city. A detached party, under colonel Sandys, w^as 
completely routed, and their leader killed ; and this action 
acquired to prince Rupert that character for promptitude 
and courage, which he eminently displayed during the 
whole course of the war. 

The king, now mustering his army, found it to amount to 
ten thousand men. The earl of Lindsey was general, 
prince Rupert commanded the horse, sir Jacob Astley the 
foot, and Lord Bernard Stewart was at toe head of a troop 
of guards, whose estates and revenue, according to lord 
Clarendon, were at least equal to those of all the mem- 
bers, who, at the commencement of the war, voted in both 
houses. . 

With this army the king left Shrewsbury, resolved to 
bring on an action as soon as possible. The royal army 
arrived in the neighbourhood of Banbury, while that of the 
parliament was at Keinton, only a few miles distant. Both 
parties advancing, they met at Edge-hill, and fought with 
various success. The cavalry and the right wing of the 
parliament army were defeated ; but sir William Balfour, 
who commanded the reserve of Essex, perceiving the ene- 
my in disorder, and busied in plundering, attacked the 
king's infantry, and made a dreadful havock. The earl 
of Lindsey was mortally wounded, and taken prisoner ; 
and sir Edmund Verney, the king's standard bearer, was 
killed. The two armies gradually recovered their ranks, 



304 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

but neither of them had courage for a new attack. The 
earl of Essex retired to Warwick, and Charles continued 
his march to Oxford, the only town at his devotion. 

After the royal army had been refreshed and recruited, 
the king advanced to Reading, from which, on the ap- 
proach of a body of horse, the governor and garrison being 
seized with a panic, fled precipitately to London. The 
parliament, who had expected a bloodless victory over 
Charles, were now alarmed at the near approach of the 
royal army, and voted an address for a treaty. The king 
named Windsor as the place of conference ; but Essex 
having arrived at London, Charles attacked two regiments 
quartered at Brentford, beat them from that village, and 
took about five hundred prisoners. Loud complaints were 
raised against this attack, pending a negotiation ; and the 
city, inflamed with' resentment, joined its trained bands to 
the parliamentary army, which,_ by that means, was ren- 
dered much superior to that o^ the king, who in conse- 
quence, judged it prudent to retire to Reading, and from 
thence to Oxford. ' 

The conferences between the king and parliament had 

commenced without any cessation of hostilities ; and it 

was soon found, tbat there was no probability of 

' , c>' coming to an agreement. The earl of Essex laid 
siege to Reading ; and Fielding, the governor, con- 
sented to yield the town, on condition that he should bring 
off" the garrison, and dehver up deserters. For this last 
article, so ignominious in itself, and so prejudicial to the 
king's interests, the governor was tried by a council of 
war, and condemned to lose his life, but the sentence was 
afterwards ^emitted. 

In the north, lord Fairfax commanded for the parlia- 
ment, and the earl of Newcastle for the kmg. The latter 
united in a league for the king, the counties of Northum- 
berland, Cumberland, Westmoreland, and Durham, and 
afterwards engaged some other counties in the association. 
Finding that Fairfax was making some progress in York- 
shire, he advanced with a body of four thousand men, and 
took possession of York ; and at Tadcaster he attacked 
the forces of the parliament, and dislodged them ; but his 
victory was not decisive. 

Sir William Waller began to distinguish himself as a 



CHARLES 1. 305 

parliamentary general. After taking Winchester and 
Chichester, he defeated lord Herbert, who had laid siege 
to Gloucester, with a considerable body of forces levied in 
Wales. 

In the west, sir Bevil Granville, sir Ralph Hopton, sir 
Nicholas Slanning, Arundel, and Trevannion, had, at their 
own charges, raised an army for the king, and successively 
defeated the parhamentary generals, Rutliven and lord 
Stamford, on Bradoc Down, and at Stratton. After this 
success, the attention of both king and parliament was 
directed to the west ; and the marquis of Hertford and 
prince Maurice having joined the Cornish army, over-ran 
the county of Devon, and threatened that of Somerset. 
Waller advanced with a considerable force to check their 
progress ; and the two armies met at Lansdown, near 
Bath, and fought a pitched battle, but without any deci- 
sive event. The gallant Granville, however, was killed in 
the action, and Hopton was dangerously wounded. The 
royalists next attempted to march eastwards, and join the* 
king's forces at Oxford ; but Waller hanging on their rear, 
a battle took place at Roundway-down, near Devizes, in 
which the parliamentary army was entirely routed and dis- 
persed. This important victory struck the parhament 
with dismay, which was increased by the death of the 
celebrated Hampden, who fell in a skirmish at Chalgrove, 
in Oxfordshire. Many were the virtues and talents of this 
eminent man, whose valour in war equalled his eloquence 
in the senate, and his resolution at the bar ; and Charles 
valued him so highly, that when he heard of his being 
wounded, he offered to send his own surgeon to attend 
him. 

Essex, discouraged by this event, retired towards Lon- 
don ; and the king, freed from the enemy, sent his army 
westward, under prince Rupert, who besieged and took 
the city of Bristol. Charles joined the camp at Bristol ; 
and some strongly urged him to march directly to London, 
where all was confusion and dismay, as the most likely 
means of rendering the royal cause successful over its ad- 
versaries ; but the resolution of investing the city of Glou- 
cester was fatally adopted. 

In the beginning of the summer, a combination had 
been formed, by Edmund Waller, the poet, a member of 



306 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

the lower house, to oblige the parliament to accept of re a* 
sonable conditions, and to restore peace to the nation. 
For the execution of this project, he associated with him 
Tomkins, his brother-in-law, and Chaloner the friend of 
Tomkins, whose influence in the city was considerable ; 
but intelligence of the design being conveyed to Pym, they 
were tried and condemned by a court martial ; and Tom- 
kins and Chaloner were executed. Waller, with much 
difficulty, escaped, on paying a fine of ten thousand 
pounds. 

After relieving Gloucester, besieged by the king, Essex 
proceeded towards London ; but when he reached New- 
bury, he found that the royal army already occupied the 
place, and that an action was unavoidable. On both sides, 
the battle was fought with desperate valour ; but night 
put an end to the action, and left the victory undecided. 
Essex continued to march to London ; and the king fol- 
lowing, retook Reading, in which he placed a garrison. 
:«In the battle of Newbury, fell Lucius Gary, viscount Falk- 
land, secretary to the king ; a man eminent for his abili- 
ties, and for every virtue which adorns humanity. On the 
morning of the day on which he met his fate, he had shown 
more than usual care in dressing himself, and gave for a 
reason, that the enemy might not find his body in any slo- 
venly indecent situation. " I am weary," he subjoined, 
" of the times, and foresee much misery to my country : 
but believe I shall be out of it ere night." He was only 
thirty-four years of age at the time of his death. 

In the north, the influence and popularity of the earl, 
now created Marquis of Newcastle, had raised a consider- 
able force for the king; but he was opposed by two 
men, on whom the event of the war finally depended, and 
who began about this time to be distinguished for their 
valour and military conduct. These were sir Thomas 
Fairfax, son of the lord of that name, and Oliver Crom- 
well. The former gained a considerable victory at Wake- 
field, and the latter at Gainsborough ; but these defeats 
of the royalists were more than compensated by the 
^total defeat of lord Fairfax, at Atherston Moor. After 
this victory, Newcastle sat down with his army before Hull ; 
but Hotham, the former governor, having expressed an in- 
tention to favour the king's interest, had some time before 



CHARLES I. 307 

^een sent to London, where he and his son fell victims to 
the severity of the parliament. 

Newcastle suffered so much by a sally of the garrison, 
that he was obliged to raise the siege ; and about the 
same time, Manchester having joined Cromwell and young 
Fairfax, obtained a considerable victory over the royalists 
at Horncastle. Thus fortune seemed to balance her fa- 
vours ; but the king's party still remained much superior 
in the north ; and had it not been for the garrison of Hull, 
which awed Yorkshire, a conjunction of the northern forces 
with the army of the south had probably enabled Charles 
to march directly to London, and finish the war, instead 
of wasting both his time and resources in the siege of 
Gloucester. 

As the event became more doubtful, both parties sought 
for assistance ; the parliament in Scotland, and the king in 
Ireland. The former easily prevailed on the Scottish cove- 
nanters to espouse their cause, by joining in a solemn league 
artd covenant, mutually to defend each other against all 
opponents, and to promote their respective aims and de- 
signs ; and Charles, having agreed to a cessation of hos- 
tilities in Ireland, where the English had regained the as- 
cendancy, procured considerable bodies of troops from 
that kingdom. 

The king, that he might make preparations for the en- 
suing campaign, endeavoured to avail himself of the ap- 
pearance of a parliament, and summoned to Oxford 
all the members of either house who adhered to his . '^' 
interest. A great majority of the peers attended 
him ; but the commons were not half so numerous as those 
who sat at Westminster. The parliament at Westminster 
having voted an excise on beer, wine, and other commodi- 
ties, those at Oxford imitated the example, and conferred 
that revenue on the king ; and this was the first introduc- 
tion of an excise into England. 

The same winter the famous Pym died ; a man as much 
hated by one party, as respected by the other. HowcTcr, 
he had been little studious of improving his private for- 
tune ; and the parliament, out of gratitude, discharged 
the debts which he had contracted. 

The forces from Ireland, under the command of lori. 
Biron, after obtaining considerable advantages in Cheshire, 

27 



308 HiSTdRY OP ENGLAtJJD. 

invested Nantwich, but were completely defeated by sir 
Thomas Fairfax, who, in the sequel, routed a large body 
of troops at Selby. Leven, the Scotch commander, having 
joined lord Fairfax, they sat down before York to which 
the army of the royalists had retired. Hopeton was 
defeated by Waller at Cherrington ; but prince Rupert 
relieved Newark, which the parhamentary forces had be- 
sieged. 

The earl of Manchester having taken Lincoln, united 
his army to that of Leven and Fairfax ; and York, though 
vigorously defended by Newcastle, was reduced to the last 
extremity, when the besiegers were alarmed by the ap- 
proach of prince Rupert, at the head of twenty thousand 
men. The Scottish and parliamentary generals drew up 
on Marston Moor to give battle to the royalists ; and 
Newcastle endeavoured to persuade the prince to wait, 
and leave the enemy to dissolve by their growing dissen- 
tions ; but Rupert, whose martial disposition was not suf- 
ficiently tempered with prudence, rejected the advice, and 
led on his troops to the charge. 1 his action was obsti- 
nately disputed, and fought with various success; but 
after the utmost efforts of courage by both parties, victory 
wholly turned on the side of the parliament. The prince's 
train of artillery was taken, and his whole army pushed off 
the field of battle. 

This engagement, in which Cromwell manifested great 
courage and abilities, proved very fatal to the king's inte- 
rest. Newcastle, disgusted at the treatment which he had 
received from the prince, and enraged that all his success- 
ful labours should be rendered abortive by one act of 
temerity, determined to leave the kingdom. He retired to 
the continent, where he lived till the restoration, in great 
necessity, and saw with indifference his opulent fortune 
sequestered by those who assumed the reins of govern- 
ment. 

Prince Rupert drew off the remains of his army, and 
retired into Lancashire ; and York surrendered to Fairfax, 
while Newcastle was taken by storm. 

Ruthven, a Scotsman, who had been created earl of 
Brentford, managed the king's affairs in the south with 
more success. Essex and Waller marched with their 
combined armies towards Oxford ; and the king, leaving 



CHARLES I. 300 

a numerous garrison in that city, dexterously passed be- 
tween the two armies, and marched towards Worcester. 
Waller received orders from Essex to follow him, while he 
himself proceeded westward in quest of prince Maurice. 
W^aller had approached within two miles of the royal 
camp, when he received intelligence that the king had di- 
rected his coarse towards Shrewsbury ; and the parlia- 
mentary general hastened by quick marches to that town ; 
but Charles suddenly retraced his former steps, and ha- 
ving reinforced his army, in his turn marched out in quest 
of Waller. At Crupredy-bridge, near Banbury, the two 
armies faced each other, with only the Cherwell running 
between them. Waller, attempting to pass the bridge, 
was repulsed ; and his army, disheartened by this unex- 
pected defeat, began to melt away by desertion. The king i^ 
thought he might safely leave it, and marched westward 
against Essex ; and having cooped him up in a narrow 
corner at Lestithiel, reduced him to the last extremity. 
Essex, Robaris, and some of the principal officers, escaped 
in a boat to Plymouth. Balfour, v\^ith his horse, passed 
the king's post in a thick mist ; but the foot under Skip- 
pon were obliged to surrender. 

That the king might have less reason to exult in this ad- 
vantage, the parliament opposed to him very numerous 
forces under Manchester, Cromwell, and Waller. Charles 
chose his post at Newbury, where the parhamentary ar- 
mies attacked him wiih great vigour ; and though the 
king's troops defended themselves with valour, they were 
overpowered by numbers, and night only saved them from 
a total defeat, and enabled them to reach Oxford. 

The discordant opinions which had arisen among the 
parliamentary generals in the field, were now tansferred 
to the senate. The independents now appeared a distinct 
body from the presbyterians, and betrayed very different 
views and pretensions. Vane, Cromwell, Fiennes, and 
St. John, were regarded as the leaders of the former ; but 
as a great majority in the nation were attached to the 
presbyterians, it was only by cunning and deceit at first, 
and after wrads by military violence, that the independents 
could entertain any hopes of success. 

The parliament having passed a self-denying ordinance, 
by which the members of both houses were excluded from 



310 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

all civil and military employments, Essex, Manchester, 
and others, resigned their commands. 

It was agreed to recruit the army to twenty-two thou- 
^ sand men, and sir Thomas Fairfax was appointed 
1646* S^^^^^^i a man eminent for his courage and hu- 
' manity, but of little genius except in war. Crom- 
well, being a member of the lower house, should have been 
discarded with the rest ; but he was saved by that politi- 
cal craft in which he was so emiuent. By an artifice, 
which was, doubtless, concerted between them, Fairfax 
requested that he might be favoured with the advice and 
assistance of Cromwell, for another campaign ; and thus the 
independents prevailed by art and cunning, and bestowed 
the whole military authority apparently on Fairfax, but in 
reality on Cromwell. The former was entirely governed 
by the genius and sagacity of the latter, whose strokes of 
character were only developed by the events in which he 
was concerned. His extensive capacity enabled him to 
form the most enlarged projects, and his enterprising ge- 
nius was not dismayed by the boldest and most dangerous. 
By the most profound dissimulation, the most oblique and 
refined artifice, and the semblance of the greatest modera- 
tion and simplicity, he concealed an ambitious and impe- 
rious mind, which ultimately led him to the summit of 
power. 

Negotiations for peace were once more renewed, though 
with small hopes of success. Consmissioners on both sides 
met at Uxbridge ; but it was soon found impracticable to 
come to any amicable adjustment on the important articles 
of religion, the militia, and Ireland. Charles refused to 
abolish episcopacy ; and the parliament expected that the 
power of the sword, and the sovereignty of Ireland, should 
remain in their hands. 

A short time before the commencement of this treaty, 
archbishop Laud, after undergoing a long imprisonment, 
was brought to his trial for high treason, in endeavouring 
to subvert the fundamental laws of the kingdom. After a 
long trial, the commons, unable to obtain a judicial sen- 
tence, passed an ordinance for taking away the life of this 
aged prelate, who sunk not under the horrors of his exe- 
cufion. «' No one," said he, " can be more wilhng to send 
me out of life, than I am to go." His head was severed 
from his body at one blow, which removed him to a better 
world* 



CHARLES I. 



311 



While the king's affairs declined in England, some events 
took place in Scotland which seemed to promise a more 
prosperous issue in that kingdom. The young earl ot 
Montrose being introduced to his majesty, was so won by 
thecivihties and caresses of the king, that though he had 
been employed in the first Scottish insurrection, he devo- 
ted himself fromthat time entirely to the service of Charles. 
Montrose, not discouraged by the defeat at Marston Moor, 
having obtained from the earl of Antrim, a nobleman of 
Ireland, a supply of eleven hundred men from that coun- 
try, immediately declared himself, and entered on the ca- 
reer which has rendered his name immortal. Several hun- 
dreds of his countrymen soon flocked to his standard ; and, 
with this small force, he hastened to attack lord Elcho, 
who lay at Perth, with an army of six thousand men. Ha- 
ving received the fire of the enemy, which was chiefly 
answered by a volly of stones, for want of arms and am- 
munition, he rushed among them, sword in hand, and 
throwing them into confusion, obtained a complete victory, 
with the slaughter of two thousand covenanters. Though 
the majority of the kingdom was attached to the cove- 
nant, yet the enterprises of. Montrose were attended with 
the most brilliant success ; and, after prevailing in many 
battles, prepared himself for marching into the southern 
provinces, in order to put a final period to the power of 
ilie covenanters. 

While the flame of war was thus rekindled in the north, 
it blazed out with no less fury in the south. Fairfax, or 
rather Cromwell, had new-modelled the parliamentary ar- 
my. Regimental chaplains were in a great measure set 
aside ; and the officers assuming the spiritual duty, united 
it with their military functions, and during the intervals of 
action, occupied themselves in sermons, prayers, and ex- 
hortations. The private soldiers, seized with the same 
fanaticism, mutually stimulated each other to farther ad- 
vances in grace ; and when they were marching to battle, 
the whole field resounded as well with psalms and spiritual 
songs as with the instruments of military music. 

At Nesby was fought, with nearly equal forces, a deci- 
sive and well-disputed action between the king and the 
parliament. Charles led on his main body, and displayed 

27* 



312 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

in this action all the conduct of a prudent general, and 
all the valour of a stout soldier. Fairfax and Skippon en- 
countered him, and well supported the reputation which 
they had previously acquired. Cromwell also, by his pru- 
dence and valour, very materially contributed to turn the 
fortune of the day. The royal infantry was totally dis- 
comfited, and Charles was obliged to quit the field, and 
leave the victory to the enemy. The slain on the side of 
the parliament, however, exceeded those of the king ; but 
Fairfax made five hundred officers prisoners, and four 
thousand private men, and took all the king's artillery and 
ammunition. 

The affairs of the royalists now declined in all quarters, 

^ Charles escaped to Oxford, where he shut himself 

1646' "P ^^^^ ^^^ broken remains of his army. Tiie 

' prince of Wales retired to France, where he joined 

the queen ; the west submitted to the arms of Fairfax and 

Cromwell ; and the defeat of Montrose at Philip-haugh, 

after a series of splendid actions, seemed to seal the final 

destiny of the king's party. 

The only resource which remained to Charles was de- 
rived from the intestine dissentions of his enemies. The 
Presbyterians and independents fell into contests concern- 
ing the division of the spoil ; and their religious B,nd civil 
disputes agitated the v.diole nation. In the mean time, 
Fairfax with a victorious army, approached to lay siege to 
Oxford, which must infallibly surrender. In this desper- 
ate extremity, the king embraced a measure, which had 
been suggested by Montreville, the French ambassador, of 
seeking the protection of the Scottish army, which at that 
time lay before Newark. 

The Scottish generals and commissioners affected great 
surprise on the appearance of the king ; and the parlia- 
ment, hearing of his escape from Oxford, threatened instant 
death, to whosoever should harbour or conceal him. The 
Scots, therefore, in order to justify themselves, assured 
the parliament, that they had entered into private under- 
standing with his majesty. After keeping the king a pris- 
oner for some time, to the eternal disgrace of the agents in 
this shameful business, they agreed to surrender him to the 
parliament, far ^400,000 pounds, half of which was to be 



CHARLES I. 313 

paid instantly ; and thus the Scottish nation have been 
stained with the infamy of selling their king, and betray- 
ing their prince for money. 

When intelligence of the final resolution of the Scots to 
surrender him was brought to Charles, he was playing at 
chess ; and so little was he affected by the news, that he 
continued his game without interruption, or any appear- 
ance of discomposure. The king, being delivered by the 
Scots to the English commissioners, was conducted to 
Holdenby, in the county of Northampton, where his an- 
cient servants were dismissed, and all communication with 
his friends or family was prohibited. 

About this time died the earl of Essex, who, sensible of 
the excesses to whi- h affairs had been carried, had resolv- 
ed to conciliate a peace, and to remedy, as far as possible, 
all those ills to which, from mistake rather than any bad 
intentions, he had himself so much contributed. His death, 
therefore, at this conjuncture, was a public misfortune. 

The dominion of the parliament, however, was of short 
duration. The presi ytevians retained the superiority 
among the commons, but the independents predominated 
in the army. Some evident symptoms of disaffection ha- 
ving appeared among the soldiers, the parliament sent 
Cromwell, Ireton, and Fleetwood, to the army, to inquire 
into the cause of the disorders. These men were the se- 
cret authors of the discontents, which, while they pretend- 
ed to appease them, they failed not to foment. 

In opposition to the parliament at Westminster, a mili- 
tary parliament was formed, together with a council of the 
principal officers, on the model of thehouse of peers ; and 
representatives of the army v/ere composed, by the election 
of two private men or inferior officers, under the title of 
agitators, from each troop or company. This court de- 
clared that they found only grievances in the army, and 
voted the conduct of parHament unsatisfactory ; and, fore- 
seeing the result of matters, they took care to strike a 
blow, which at once decided the victory in their favour. 

A party of five hundred horse appeared at Holdenby, 
under the command of cornet Joice, who had once been a 
tailor, but was now an active agitator in the army. Joice 
came into the king's presence, armed with pistols, and told 
him he must immediately go along with him. *' Whither ?" 



,''•'*v^•* 



■J.*ip-« 



314 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

said his majesty. '' To the army," replied Joice. " By 
what warrant ?" asked the king. Joice pointed to the sol- 
diers, who were tall, handsome, and well accoutred. " Your 
warrant," said Charles, smiling, " is writ in fair charac- 
ters, legible, without speUing." Resistance was of course 
vain ; and the king, stepping into his coach, was safely 
conducted to the army, which was hastening to its rendez- 
vous at Tripio-heath, near CamlDridge. 

Fairfax himself was ignorant of this manoeuvre ; and it 
was not till the arrival of Cromwell, who had deceived the 
parliament by his profound dissimulation and consummate 
hypocrisy, that the intrigue was developed. On his arrival 
in the camp, he was received with loud acclamations, and 
was instantly invested with the supreme command. 

The parliament, though at present defenceless, possessed 
many resources ; and, therefore, Cromwell advanced upon 
them with the army, and arrived in a few days at St. Al- 
ban's. The parliament, conscious of their want of popu- 
larity, were reduced to despair ; and the army, hoping by 
terror alone to effect all their purposes, halted at St. Al- 
ban's, and entered into negotiation with their masters. 

The army, in their usurpations on the parliament, copied 
exactly the model which the parliament itself had set them, 
in their recent usurpations on the crown. Every day they 
rose in their demands ; and one concesssion only paved 
the way to another still more exorbitant. At last, there 
being no signs of resistance, in order to save appearances, 
they removed, at the desire of the parliament, to a greater 
distance from London, and fixed their head-quarters at 
Reading. 

Charles was carried with them in all their marches, and 
found himself much more formidable than at Holdenby. 
All his friends had access to him ; and his children were 
once allowed to visit him, and they passed a few days at 
Caversham, where he resided. Cromwell, as well as the 
leaders of all factions, paid court to him ; and so confident 
was the king, that all parties would at length have recourse 
to his lawful authority, that on several occasions he ob- 
served, " You cannot be without me ; you cannot settle 
the nation, but by my assistance." 

Charles, however, though he wished to hold the balance 
between the opposite parties, entertained more hopes of 



CHARLES I. 315 

acicommodation with the army, and made the most splen- 
did offers to Ireton and Cromwell. The latter pretended 
to listen to his proposals ; but it is probable, that he had 
conceived the design of seizing the sceptre. While Crom- 
well, however, allured the king with the hopes of an ac- 
commodation, he systematically pursued his plan of hum- 
bling the parhament. M petition against some laws was 
presented at Westminster, by the apprentices and seditious 
multitude ; and the house was obliged to reverse its votes. 
Intelligence of this tumult being conveyed to Reading, the 
army, under pretence of restoring liberty to that assembly, 
marched to Hounslow, where the speakers of the two 
houses, Manchester and Lanlhal, having secretly retired 
by collusion, presented themselves with their maces, and 
all the ensigns of their dignity, and complained of the vio- 
lence put upon them. The two speakers were received 
with acclamations, and conducted by a mihtary force to 
Westminster ; and every act which had passed in their ab- 
sence was annulled, and the parliament reduced to a regu- 
larly formed servitude. 

The leaders of the army, having now established their do- 
minion over the city and parliament, ventured to bring the 
king to Hampton Court ; but intelligence being daily 
brought him of menaces thrown out by the agitators, and 
his guards being doubled with the view of rendering him 
uneasy in his present situation, Charles adopted the sud- 
den and impolitic resolution of withdrawing himself; and 
attended only by sir John Berkley, Ashburnham, and 
Legge, he privately left Hampton Court, and arrrived next 
day at Tichfield. Sensible, however, that he could not 
long remain concealed there, he imprudently put himself 
into the hands of Hammond, governor of the Isle of Wight, 
a man entirely dependent on Cromwell, by whom he was 
carried to Carisbrooke castle, and confined a prisoner, 
though treated with the externals of duty and respect. 

Cromwell, now freed from all anxiety in regard to the 
custody of the king's person, and being superior to the par- 
liament, applied himself seriously to quell those disorders 
in the army which he himself had raised. He issued or- 
ders for discontinuing the meetings of the agitators ; but 
these levellers, as they were called, joined in seditious re- 
monstrances and petitions ; and Cromwell, at the time of a 



316 HISTORY OF ENOLAND. 

review, seizing the ringleaders before their companions, 
caused one mutineer ine>tantly to be shot, and struck such 
terror into the rest, that they quietly returned to discipline 
and duty, 

Cromwell paid great deference to the counsels of Ireton, 
a man who had grafted the soldj^r on the lawyer, and the 
statesman on the saint , and b^ lis suggestion, he secretly 
called a council of the chief officers at Windsor, where was 
first opened the daring design of bringing the king to con- 
dign punishment for mal-administration. This measure 
being resolved on, it was requisite gradually to conduct the 
parliament from one violence to another, till this last act 
of atrocious iniquity should appear inevitable. At the in- 
stigation of the independents and army, that assembly 
framed four proposals, to which they demanded the king's 
positive assent, before they would deign to treat. The 
first was, that he should invest the parliament with the 
military power for twenty years ; the second, that he 
should recall all his proclamations and declarations against 
the parliament, and acknowledge that assembly to have 
taken arms in their just and necessary defence ; the third, 
that he should annul all the acts, and void all the patents 
of peerage, which had passed the great seal, since the 
commencement of the civil wars ; and the fourth, that he 
should give the two houses power to adjourn as they 
thought proper. 

Charles, though a prisoner, regarded these pretensions 

as exorbitant, and desired that all the terms on both sides 

should be adjusted, before any concession on either was 

insisted on. The repubhcans pretended to take 

^'^' fire at this reply ; and Cromwell, after expatiating 

' on the valour and godliness of the army, added, 

" Teach them not by neglecting your own safety and that 

of the kingdom, in which their's too is involved, to imagine 

themselves betrayed, and their interests abandoned to the 

rage and mahce of an irreconcileable enemy, whom, for 

your sake, they have dared to provoke. Beware, (and at 

these words he laid his hand on his sword,) beware lest 

despair cause them to seek safety by some other means 

than by adhering to you, who know not how to consult 

your own safety." 

Ninety-one members, however, had still the courage to 



CHARLES I* 3i7 

oppose this menace of Cromwell ; but the majority deci- 
ded, that no more addresses were to be made to the king, 
nor any letters or messages received from him, and that it 
should be treason for any one to have intercourse with him, 
without a permission from parliament. By this vote the 
king was actually dethroned ; and this violent measure 
was supported by a declaration of the commons equally 
violent, in which the character of Charles was aspersed 
with the foulest calumnies. 

Scotland, whence the king's cause had received the first 
fatal disaster, seemed now to promise its support and as- 
sistance. Alarmed at the subjection of parliament to the 
army, and the confinement of Charles, the Scots had re- 
solved to arm. forty thousand men, in support of their na- 
tive prince, and secretly entered into correspondence with 
the English royalists, sir Marmaduke Langdale and sir 
Philip Musgrave, who had levied considerable forces in 
the north of England. Various combination;* and con- 
spiracies for the same purpose were every where forming ; 
and seventeen ships lying at the mouth of the river, decla- 
red for the king ; and setting their admiral ashore, sailed 
over to Holland, where the prince of Wales took the com- 
mand of them. 

Cromwell and his military council, however, prepared 
themselves with vigour and conduct for defence ; and 
while the forces were employed in all quarters, parliament 
having regained some share of liberty, repealed the vote 
for non-addressing, and five peers and ten commoners were 
sent to Newport in the Isle of Wight, as commissioners to 
treat with Charles. 

From the time that the king had been a prisoner in Ca- 
risbroke castle, he had totally neglected his person, and 
had suffered his beard to grow long. His hair had become 
almost entirely gray, either from the decline of years, or 
the load of sorrow with which he was oppressed. The vi- 
gour of his mind, however, was still unbroken ; and alone, 
and unsupported, for two months, he maintained an argu- 
ment against fifteen men of the greatest parts and capacity, 
without any advantage being obtained over him. Of all 
the demands of the parliament, Charles refused only two : 
he would neither give up his friends to punishment, nor 
abolish episcopacy, though he was willing to temper it. 

In the mean time, Cromwell, with eight thousand men. 



315 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

attacked and defeated the numerous armies of twenty 
thousand, commanded by Hamilton and Langdale, and took 
the former prisoner. Following up his advantage, he 
marched into Scotland, where he exercised the most ty- 
rannical power, and, in conjunction with those of his own 
party, placed all authority in the hands of the most violent 
anti-royalists. Colchester, after holding out for the king 
to the last extremity, under sir Charles Lucas and sir 
George Lisle, was obliged to surrender ; and Fairfax, in- 
stigated by the inhuman Ireton, caused those officers to be 
shot. 

These successes of the army had subdued all their ene* 
mies, except the helpless king and parhament ; and the 
council of general officers, at the suggestioH of Cromwell, 
now demanded the dissolution of that assembly, and a more 
equal representation in future. At the same time they ad- 
vanced the troops to Vv indsor, and ordered the king to be 
removed to Hurst castle in Hampshire, where he was kept 
in close confinement. 

The parliament, however, did not lose their courage, 
but set aside the remonstrances of the army, and issued 
orders that it should not advance nearer to London. The 
parliament, however, had to deal with men who would 
not be intimidated by words, nor retarded by any scrupu- 
lous delicacy. The generals marched the army to Lon- 
don, and surrounded the parliament with their hostile pre- 
parations. In this situation, the parliament had the reso- 
lution to attempt to close their treaty with the king ; and 
after a violent debate of three days, it was carried by a 
majority of one hundred and twenty-nine, against eighty- 
three, in the house of commons, that the king's conces- 
sions were a foundation for the houses to proceed upon in 
the settlement of the kingdom. 

Next day, however, when the commons were about to 
meet, colonel Pride, formerly a drayrnan, having sur- 
rounded the house with two regiments, forty-one members 
of the presbyterian party were seized, and above one hun- 
dred and sixty more were excluded. In short, none but 
the most determined independents were allowed to enter, 
and these did not exceed the number of fifty or sixty. 
This invasion of the parliament commonly passed under 
the name of colonel Pride's purge. The independents in- 
stantly reversed the former vote, and declared the king'? 



CHARLES I. 319 

concessions unsatisfactory : they renewed the former vote 
of non-addresses ; and committed some of the leading 
presbyterian members to prison. 

The council of officers now took into consideration a 
scheme, called " the agreement of the people," which laid 
the basis of a republic ; and, that they might complete their 
iniquity and fanatical extravagance, they urged on this 
shadow of a parliament to bring in a specific charge against 
their sovereign. Accordingly, a vote was passed, declar- 
ing it treason in a king to levy war against his parliament, 
and appointed a high court of justice to try Charles for 
this new-invented treason. This vote was sent up to the 
house of peers ; and that assembly, which was in general 
very thinly attended, was on that day fuller than usual, and 
consisted of sixteen members ; but without one dissen- 
ting voice, they instantly rejected the vote of the lower 
house, and adjourned for ten days, in hopes, by this delay, 
to retard the furious career of the commons. 

That body, however, having assumed as a principle, 
which is true in theory, though false in practice, " that the 
people are the origin of all just power," they declared that 
the commons represented the people, and that their en- 
actments have the force of laws, without the consent of 
king or house of peers. The ordinance for the trial of 
Charles Stuart was then again read, and unanimously 
agreed to. 

Colonel Harrison, the son of a butcher, and the most 
furious enthusiast of the army, was despatched with a 
strong party to conduct the king to London ; and it ap- 
pears, that, at this time, his majesty expected assassina- 
tion, and could not believe that they really intended t9 
conclude their acts of violence by a public trial and exe- 
cution. 

All things, however, being adjusted, the high court of 
justice was fully constituted. It consisted of one hundred 
and thirty-three persons named by the commons ; but 
scarcely more than seventy ever sat ; so difficult was it to 
engage men of any name or character in that atrocious 
measure. Cromwell, Ireton, Harrison, and the chief offi- 
cers of the army, most of them of low birth, were mem- 
bers, together with some of the lower house, and a few 
citizens of London. The twelve judges were at fir.st ap- 



320 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

pointed in the number ; but as they had affirmed that the 
proceeding was illegal, their names were struck out» 
Bradshaw, a lawyer, was chosen president, and Coke was 
appointed solicitor to the people of England. 

The court sat in Westminster-hall ; and the king being 
arraigned for levying war against the parliament, was im- 
peached as a tyrant, traitor, and murderer. Though long 
detained a prisoner, and now produced as a criminal, 
Charles sustained the dignity of a monarch, and with great 
temper and force, declined the authority of the court. 
Three times was he brought before his judges, and as of- 
ten declined their jurisdiction. On the fourth, the court 
having examined some witnesses, by whom it was proved 
that the king had appeared in arms against the forces com- 
missioned by the parliament, they pronounced sentence 
against him. 

In this last scene, Charles forgot not his character, ei- 
ther as a man or a prince. Firm and intrepid, he main* 
tained in each reply, the utmost perspicuity in thought and 
expression ; mild and equable, he rose into no passion at 
the unusual authority assumed over him. His soul, with- 
out effort or affectation, seemed only to remain in the situ- 
ation familiar to it, and to look down with contempt on all 
the efforts of human malice. The soldiers were brought, 
though with difficulty, to cry aloud for justice : " Poor 
souls," said the king, " for a little money they would do 
as much against their commanders." 

Three days only were allowed the king between his sen- 
tence and execution ; and this interval was passed in read- 
ing and devotion, and in conversing with the princess 
Elizabeth and the duke of Gloucester, who alone of his 
family remained in England. 

The morning of the fatal day, which was the 30th of 
January, 1649, Charles rose early, and calling Herbert, 
one of his attendants, bade him employ more than usual 
care in dressing him, and preparing him for such a great 
and joyful solemnity. Juxon, bishop of London, a man 
endued with the same mild and steady virtues as his mas- 
ter, assisted him in his devotions, and paid the last me- 
lancholy duties to his sovereign. As he was preparing 
himself for the block, Juxon said, "There is, sir, but one 
stage more, which, though turbulent, is yet a very short 




Charles the First parting with his Children. 




Eocecution of Charles the First. 



CHARLES I. 



s^i 



oue. Consider, it will soon carry you a great way : it will 
carry you from earth to heaven ; and there you shall find, 
to your great joy, the prize to which you hasten, a crown 
of glory." " I go," replied the king, " from a corrupti- 
ble to an incorruptible crown, where no disturbance can 
have place." At one blow his head was severed from his 
body by a man in a visor ; and another . in a similar dis- 
guise, held up to the spectators the head streaming with 
blood, and cried aloud, " This is the head of a traitor !" 

It is impossible to describe the grief, indignation, and 
astonishment, which took place throughout the nation, on 
this melancholy occasion. Each reproached himself either 
with active disloyalty, or with a too indolent defence of 
the royal cause. The generous Fairfax, it appears, had 
designed to rescue the king from the scaffold, with his own 
regiment ; but this intention being known he was artfully 
engaged by Cromwell in prayer with Harrison, till the fa» 
tal blow was struck. 

The moment before his execution, Charles had said to 
Juxon, in an earnest and impressive manner, remember I 
and the generals insisted with the prelate, that he should 
inform them of the kmg's meaning. Juxon i<«ul rherii^ 
that the king had charged him to inculcate on his son tiie 
forgiveness of his murderers ; a sentiment whsrl. v; ^ ;. 
last speech he had before declared. As a kinfr <'bii.'. 
was not free from faults ; but as a man, few hac? v, J *'},' 
led the throne, who were entitled to more unquai. 5ed 
praise. 

A few days after the consummation of this tragedy, the 
commons passed a vote, abolishing the house • ' > 
dangerous and useless, and a like vote was pa < x 

gard to the monarchy. It was declared higb-treaaon to 
proclaim or otherwise acknowledge Charles Stuyri,, c -^ 
monly called the prince of Wales ; and the conuri>ns . 
dered a new great seal to be engraved, on whicb ihat as- 
sembly was represented, with a legend, " On the first year 
©f freedom, by God's blessing restored, 1648." 



322 HISTORY OF ENGLAN:P. 

CHAP. XII. 

The Commonwealth. 

On the death of Charles, every person had framed the 
model of a republic, which, how new or absurd soever, he 
wished to impose on his fellow citizens. The level- 
1649 ^^^^ insisted on an equal distribution of power and 
* property ; the millenarians, or fifth monarchy men, 
required that government itself should be aboHshed, to 
prepare the way for the dominion of Christ, whose second 
coming they suddenly expected ; while the antinomians 
asserted, that the obligations of morality and natural law 
were superseded, and that the elect were guided by an in- 
ternal prmciple more perfect and divine. 

The royalists were inflamed with the highest resent- 
ment against their ignoMe adversaries ; the presbyterians 
■were ero aged to fcnd that the fruits of their labours were 
ravished from them, by the treachery or superior cunning 
of their associates ; and the army, the only support of the 
independent republican faction, was actuated by a reli- 
gioi>> frenzy, which rendered it dangerous even to itjS 
frkiids^ 

i lie only poise against these irregularities of action, 
s?as the great Uiiiuence of Oliver Cromwell. Hating Mo- 
.^SK^hj, wiiile a subject ; despising liberty, while a citi- 
zen ; he was secretly paving the way, by artifice and cou- 
rage to his own unlimited authority. 

The parliament now named a council of state, consist- 
ing of thirty-eir^ht members, to whom all addresses were 
madec and who digested all business before it was introdu- 
ced into the huse. Foreign powers, occupied in wars 
amoiig' themse' ?es, had no leisure or inclination to inter- 
pose in the dooiestic dissentions of this island ; and the 
yov-ng kin^. poo and neglected, comforted himself amidst 
his present distress only with the hopes of better fortune. 
The situation of Scotland and Ireland alone gave any in- 
quietude to the new republic. 

Argyle and his partisans had proclaimed Charles II. in 
Scotland ; but on condition " of his good behaviour and 
strict observance of the covenant :" in Ireland, the duke 
of Ormond having contrived to assemble an army of sixteei^ 



THE COMHONWEALTH. 323 

thousand men, recovered several places from the parlia- 
ment, and threatened Dublin with a siege ; and the young 
king entertained thoughts of visiting that kingdom. 

Cromwell aspired to a situation where so much glory 
might be won, and so much authority acquired ; and, by 
his usual cunning, he procured from the council of state 
the appointment of commander in chief in that island. 
Many disorders, however, in England, and particularly in 
the army, were necessary to be composed, before he set 
out ; but with his usual felicity he settled affairs sufficient- 
ly to allow him to undertake the expedition. 

On his arrival at Dublin, he attacked and defeated the 
army of Urmond, whose military character in this action 
received some stain. He then hastened to Tredah, which 
was well fortified, and garrisoned with three thousand men ; 
and having made a breach, he ordered a general assault. 
The town was taken sword in hand ; and orders being is- 
sued to give no quarter, a cruel slaughter was made of the 
garrison. One person alone escaped, to be the messen- 
ger of the universal havoc and destruction. 

Cromwell pretended to retaliate, by this severe execu- 
tion, the cruelty of the Irish massacre ; and though he well 
knew that nearly the whole garrison were English, his bar- 
barous policy had certainly the desired effect. Every town 
before which he presented himself, now opened its gates 
without offering any resistance ; and the English had no 
other difficulties to encounter, than what arose from fa- 
tigue and the advanced season. Fluxes and contagious 
distempers destroyed great numbers of them ; but the 
English garrisons of Cork, Kinsalcj and other important 
places, deserted to. him 

This desertion of the English put an end to Ormond's 
authority ; and leaving the island, he delegated his power 
to Clanricarde, who found affairs too desperate to admit 
any remedy. Above forty thousand Irish passed into for- 
eign service ; and in the space of nine months, Cromwell 
had almost entirely subdued Ireland. 

In the mean time, Charles being informed that 
he had been proclaimed king by the Scottish par- ^ Acq 
liament, was at length persuaded, though reluc- 
tantly, to submit to the severe conditions annexed to his re- 
ceival of the crown. To comply with these, he was chief- 
ly induced by the account brought him of the fate of Mont- 

28* 



324 HiSTORY OF ENGLANJJ. 

rose, who, with all the circumstances of rage and contume- 
ly, had been put to death by his zealous countrymen. 
The sentence pronounced against Montrose, was, that 
after bemg hanged, his head should be cut off, and affix- 
ed to the prison, and that his legs and arms should be 
stuck up on the four chief towns in the kingdom. He told 
the clergy, who insulted over his fallen fortunes, that they 
were a miserably deluded and deluding people. *' For 
my part," added he, " I am much prouder to have my 
head affixed to the place where it is sentenced to stand, 
than to have my picture hung in the king's bed-chamber. 
So far from being sorry, that my quarters are to be sent to 
four cities of the kingdom, 1 wish that I had limbs enow to 
be dispersed into all the cities of Christendom, there to 
remain as testimonies in favour of the cause for which I 
suffiijr." This sentiment, the same evening, he threw into 
verse ; and i:he poem still remains, a monument of his 
heroic spin , and no despicable proof of his poetic genius. 
With the same constancy he endured the last act of the 
executionev ; and thus perished, m the thirty-eighth year 
of his age. the gallant marquis of Montrose. 

Charle.>, in consequence of his agreement to take the 
covenant, and to submit to other hard conditions, landed 
in {Scotland ; but soon found himself considered as a mere 
pageant cf state, and that the few remains of royalty which 
he possessed, served only to draw on him the greater in- 
dignities. As his facility in yielding to every demand 
gave some reason to doubt his sincerity, it was proposed 
that he should pass through a public humiliation, instead 
of being crowned as he expected. 

Th'.- advance of the English army under Cromwell, 
could not appease nor soften the animosities among the 
parties in Scotland. As soon as the English parliament 
found that the treaty between Charles and the Scots was 
likely to lead to an accommodation, they prepared for war. 
The command in Ireland was left to Ireton ; and Crom- 
well being declared captain-general of all the forces in 
England, entered Scotland with an army of sixteen thou- 
sand men. 

The command of the Scottish army was given to Leslie, 
who entrenched himself between Edinburgh and Leith, 
and avoided a battle, which Croarwell tried every expe-^ 
dient to bring on. The latter was at length reduced t» 



THE COMMONWEALTH. 325 

such extremities, that he had even embraced the resolution 
of sending all his foot and artillery to England by sea, and 
of breaking through, at all hazards, with his cavalry ; but 
the madness of the Scottish ecclesiastics preserved him 
from this dishonour. 

These enthusiasts had not only enjoined Charles to with- 
draw from the army, but they had purged it of four thou- 
sand malignants, as they were called, though reckoned the 
best soldiers in the nation ; and on the faith of visions, 
forced their general, in spite of his remonstrances, to 
descend from an advantageous station upon the heights of 
Lamermure, near Dunbar, with a view of attacking the 
English in their retreat. Cromwell, seeing the enemy's 
camp in motion, foretold without the help of revelations, 
*' that the Lord had delivered them into his hands." He 
gave orders for an immediate attack ; and such was the 
effect of discipline, that the bcots, though double in num» 
ber, were soon put to flight, and pursued with great slaugh- 
ter. About three thousand were slain, and nine thousand 
taken prisoners ; and Cromwell following up his advantage, 
took possession of Edinburgh and Leith. The remnant of 
the Scottish army fled to Stirling. The defeat of the Scots 
was regarded by Charles as a fortunate event, as the van- 
quished were now obliged to allow him more authority. 
Still, however, the protesters kept aloof from the malig- 
nants. 

Charles encamped at Torwood, with the town of Stir- 
ling behind him, and cautiously adhered to defen- 
sive measures ; but Cromwell, passing over the lAr/ 
frith into Fife, posted himself in his rear, and ren- 
dered it impossible for the king to keep his station. Charles, 
reduced to despair, embraced a resolution worthy of a 
young prince contending for empire. The road to Eng- 
land being open, where he hoped to be joined by numerous 
friends, he persuaded the generals to march thither ; and 
with one consent the army, to the number of fourteen 
thousand men, rose from their camp, and advanced by 
rapid marches towards the south. 

Cromwell, leaving Monk with seven thousand men to 
complete the reduction of Scotland, followed the king 
with all possible expedition. Charles found himself disap- 
pointed in his expectations of increasing his army : the 
Scots fell off in great numbers ; the English presbyterians 



32$ HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

and the royalists were unprepared to join him ; and when 
he arrived at Worcester, his forces were not more nume- 
rous than when he rose from his camp at Torwood. 

Such is the influence of estabHshed government, that the 
commonwealth, though very unpopular, had sufficient in- 
fluence to raise the miUtia of the counties ; and these, uni- 
ted with the regular forces, enabled Cromwell to fall upon 
the king at W orcesler with an army of thirty thousand men. 
The streets of that city were strewed with the dead. 
Hamilton, a nobleman of bravery and honour, was mor- 
tally wounded ; Massey was wounded and taken prisoner ; 
and the king himself, having given many proofs of person- 
al valour, was obhged to fly. The whole Scottish army 
was either killed or taken prisoners. 

By the earl of i 'crby's directions, Charles went to Bos- 
cobel, a lone house on the borders of Staffordshire, inha- 
bited by one Penderell, a farmer, who, with his four bro- 
thers, served him with unshaken fidelity. Having clothed 
the king in a garb iike their own, they led him into a neigh- 
bouring wood, and pretended to employ themselves in 
cutting faggots. For better con ealment, he mounted an 
oak, where, hid among the leaves, he saw several soldiers 
pass by, who expressed in his hearing, their earnest wishes 
of finding him. At length, after escaping the frequent 
dangers of detection, the king embarked on board a ves- 
sel at Shoreham, in Sussex, and arrived safely at Fescamp 
in Normandy, after a concealment of one and forty days. 
No less than forty men and women had at different times 
been privy to his concealment, yet all of them proved faith- 
ful to their trust. 

The battle of Worcester afforded Cromwell what he call- 
ed his " crowning mercy ;" and he now discovered to his 
intimate friends his aspiring views. The unpopularity of 
the parliament aided the ambition of this enterprising man, 
and paved the way to his exaltation. Never, however, had 
the power of this country appeared so formidable to neigh- 
bouring nations, as at this time. Blake had raised the na- 
Tal glory of England to a greater height than it had at- 
tained at any former period. In America, the Bermudas, 
Antigua, Virginia, and Barbadoes, were reduced ; Jersey,, 
Guernsey, Scilly, and the Isle of Man, were brought under 
subjection to the republic ; and all the British dominion^ 
submitting, parliament turned its views to foreign enter- 



THE COMMONWEAtTH. 327 

The Dutch were the first that felt the weight of their 
arms. The parhament passed the famous navigation act» 
Letters of reprisal were granted to several merchants, who 
complained of injuries which they had received from the 
states ; and above eighty Dutch ships fell into their hands, 
and were made prizes. The cruelties committed on the 
English at Amboyna, which had been suffered to sleep in 
oblivion for thirty years, were also urged as a ground for 
hostile aggression. 

That they might not be unprepared for the war with 
which they were menaced, the states equipped a 
fleet of one hundred and fifty sail ; and gave the jA^g 
command of a squadron of forty-two ships to Van 
Tromp, an admiral of great talents, to protect the Dutch 
navigation against the privateers of England. In the road 
of Dover, he met with Blake, who commanded an English 
fleet much inferior in number. Who was the aggressor in 
the action which ensued, it is not easy to determine ; but 
the Dutch were defeated with the loss of one ship sunk, 
and another taken. 

The parliament gladly seized this opportunity of com- 
mencing the war in form. Several actions now took place 
with various success. At length, Tromp, seconded by De 
Ruyter, met near the Goodwin Sands with Blake, who, 
though his fleet was inferior to that of the Dutch, declined 
not the combat. Both sides fought with the greatest bra- 
very ; but the advantage remained with the Dutch ; and 
after this victory, Tromp, in a bravado, fixed a broom to 
his mast-head, as if resolved to sweep the seas of the Eng- 
lish. 

Great preparations were made in England to wipe oft" 
this disgrace ; and a fleet of eighty sail was fitted 
out, commanded by Blake, and under him by Dean lAro 
and Monk. As the English lay oflf Portland, they 
descried a Dutch fleet of seventy-six vessels, sailing up 
the channel with three hundred merchantmen, under the 
command of Tromp and De Ruyter. A most furious bat- 
tle commenced, and continued for three days, with the ut- 
most rage and obstinacy ; and Blake, who was victor, 
could scarcely be said to have gained more honour than 
the vanquished. Tromp made a skilful retreat, and after 
losing eleven ships of war, and thirty merchantmen, reach? 
c^ the coast of Holland. 



328 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

This defeat, together with the loss which their trade sus- 
tained by the war, indined the states to peace ; but par- 
liament did not receive their overtures in a favourable 
manner ; and they rejoiced at the dissohition of that assem- 
bly by Cromwell, as an event likely to render their affairs 
more prosperous. 

Cromwell, sensible that parliament entertained a jeal- 
ousy of his power, which they wished to restrain, deter- 
mined to anticipate their designs. A council of officers 
presented a remonstrance, complaining of the arrears due 
to the army, and demanding that a new parliament should 
be summoned. To this the parliament made a sharp re- 
ply ; and Cromwell in a rage hastened to the house, at- 
tended by three hundred soldiers, some of whom he placed 
at the door, some in the lobby, and some on the stairs. 
He reproached the parliament for their tyranny, ambition, 
and oppression ; and commanding the soldiers to clear the 
hall he himself went out the last, and ordering the doors 
to be locked, departed to his lodgings at Whitehall. 

Oliver Cromwell, who had by this violent measure mo- 
nopolized the whole civil and military power in the king- 
dom, was born at Huntingdon, oi a good family, though 
their estate was small, in the early part of his life, he 
was extremely dissolute and dissipated : but he was sudden- 
ly seized with the spirit of reformation, and entered into all 
the zeal and rigour of the puriians. His affairs being 
embarrassed, he took a farm at St. Ives, and applied him- 
self to agriculture ; but this expedient involved him in 
greater difficulties. The length of his prayers, together 
with the general abstraction of his mind, prevented him 
from paying due attention to his farm ; and urged by his 
w^ants, and the religious principles he had imbibed, he had 
made a party with Hampden, his near kinsman, to trans- 
port himself to New-England, but was prevented by an 
order of council. From accident and intrigue he was 
choseji member for the town of Cambridge in the long 
parhament ; but though highly gifted by nature, he was 
no orator ; and if he had not lived in times of turbulence 
and disorder, it is probable that he would never have 
risen to eminence and distinction. 

The indignation manifested by the people, on the usurpa» 
tion of Cromwell, was less violent than might have been 
expected. Harassed with wars and factions, men wer^ 









<^ 



O 

eg 




THE COMMONWEALTH. 3^$ 

glad to see any prospect of peace ; and they considered it 
less ignominious to submit to a person of talents and abili- 
ties, than to a few enthusiastic hypocrites, who, under 
the name of a republic, had reduced them to a cruel sub- 
jection. 

By the advice of his council of officers, Cromwell sent 
summons to one hundred and twenty-eight persons, of dif- 
ferent towns and counties of England, to five of Scotland, 
and to six of Ireland. These men, who were generally low 
mechanics, supported by Cromwell, voted themselves a 
parliament ; and from one of the most noted, a leather- 
seller in London, whose name was Praise-God Barebone, 
they obtained the ridiculous appellation of Barebone's par- 
liament. Cromwell, however, soon became dissatisfied 
with this assembly of fanatics, who, he expected, would 
have been subservient to him, but who began to insist on 
their divine commission, and to oppose his views. In the 
act of drawing up a protest against their dissolution, they 
were interrupted by Colonel White, with a party of soldiers. 
White asked them what they did there ? *' We are seeking 
the Lord," said they. " Then you may go elsewhere," 
replied he ; " for to my knowledge, he has not been here 
these many years." 

This shadow of a parliament being dissolved, the council 
of officers now proposed, that the supreme authority should 
be vested in a single person, who should be styled the 
PROTECTOR ; and a new instrument of government being 
prepared, Cromwell was declared protector^ and installed 
with great solemnity in that high office. By the plan of 
this new legislature, a council was appointed, which was 
not to exceed twenty-one, nor be fewer than thirteen per- 
sons. The protector, however, was to possess all the execu- 
tive power ; but the advice of the council was to be taken 
on every important occasion. A parliament was to be sum- 
moned every three years, and allowed to sit five months, 
without adjournment, prorogation, or dissolution. The 
bills which they passed were to be presented to the protec- 
tor for his assent ; but if within twenty days that assent 
was not obtained, they were to become laws by the autho- 
rity of parliament alone. A standing army was established, 
and funds were assigned for its support. During the in- 
tervals of parliament, the protector and council ha . 
power of enacting laws, which were to be valid till th< 



330 History op ENGtiuD. 

meeting of the legislative body. The protector was to en- 
joy his office during life ; and, on his death, the council 
was to fill up the vacancy. The council of state, named 
by the instrument, were men entirely devoted to Crom- 
well, and not likely ever to combine against him. 

Whatever may be the defects and distractions in this 
system of civil poHty, the mihtary force of England was 
exerted with vigour, conduct, and unanimity. The Eng- 
lish fleet, commanded by Monk and Dean, after an en* 
gagement of two days, defeated the Dutch under Tromp ; 
and in another engagement, when Blake commanded, 
Tromp was shot through the heart, and this decided the 
action. The Dutch regarded less the loss of thirty ships 
which were sunk and taken, than the catastrophe of their 
brave admiral. At length, however, a defensive 

*_ * league was contracted between the two republics, 
on terms very honourable and advantageous to 
England ; and Cromwell, as protector, signed the treaty 
of pacification. 

Cromwell, however, had occasion to observe the preju- 
dices entertained against his government, by the disposi- 
tion of the parliament which he had summoned. The 
manner in which he had conducted the elections had been 
favourable to liberty. The small boroughs, as being most 
exposed to influence and corruption, had been disfranchi- 
sed ; and of four hundred members who represented Eng- 
land, two hundred and seventy were chosen by the counties. 
These measures, however, failed to procure him the confi- 
dence of the people ; and the first business on which the 
parliament entered, was to discuss the pretended instru- 
ment of government, and the authority which Cromwell 
had assumed over the nation. Cromwell obliged the mem- 
bers to sign a recognition of his authority, and an engage- 
ment not to propose or consent to any alteration in the 
government, as settled in a single person and a parliament ; 
but, finding that conspiracies had been entered into be- 
tween the members and some malcontent officers, he has- 
tened to dissolve this dangerous assembly. 

After this, the protector exerted himself against the ad- 
herents of Charles, who had appointed a day of 
1655 g®^®^^^ rising throughout England ; and in order 
* to draw offthe attention of the nation from himself, 
he extended his enterprises to every part of Europe. He 



THE COMMONWEALTH. 33-1 

compelled the French to comply with every proposal 
which he thought fit to make, and to submit to the great- 
est indignities. 

The extensive but feeble empire of Spain in the West 
fndies, excited the ambition of the protector ; and, in or- 
der to humble that power, he equipped two squadrons ; 
one under Blake entered the Mediterranean, and spread 
terror every where. To the other, under Pen and Vena- 
bles, Jamaica surrendered without a blow ; and that island 
has ever since remained in the hands of the English, the 
chief acquisition which they owe to the enterprising spirit 
of Cromwell. 

Blake, being informed that a Spanish fleet of sixteen 
ships had taken shelter in the Canaries, sailed thither, and 
found them in the bay of Santa Cruz. This bay was 
strongly fortified ; but nothing could daunt the spirit of 
Blake. In spite of the Spanish forts and batteries, the 
English admiral steered into the bay ; and, after a resist- 
ance of four hours, the enemy abandoned their ships, 
which were set on fire and consumed. 

This was the last and greatest action of that gallant offi- 
cer. Being almost worn out with a dropsy and scurvy, 
he hastened home, that he might die in his native country ; 
but he expired as he came within sight of land. Never 
was a man more sincerely respected, even by those of op- 
posite principles. He was an inflexible republican, and 
the late changes were thought to be no way grateful to 
him ; but he remarked to the seamen, " It is still our duty 
10 fight for our country, into whose hands soever the gov- 
ernment may fall." 

The conduct of the protector in foreign affairs, though 
often rash, was full of vigour. The great mind of Crom- 
well was intent on spreading the fame of the English na- 
tion ; and it was his boast, that he would render the name 
of an Englishman as much feared and revered as ever was 
that of a Roman. In his civil and domestic administra- 
tion, he paid great regard both to justice and clemency. 
All the chief offices in the courts of judicature were filled 
with men of integrity ; and amidst the virulence of faction, 
the decrees of the judges were unwarped by partiality. 

Cromwell now judging that he had sufficiently establisli- 
ed his authority, summoned another parliament ; but, 
though he had used every art to influence the elections, he 

29 



332 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

soon found that it was necessary to employ the most vio- 
lent measures to procure an ascendancy in the house. He 
placed guards at the door, who permitted only such to en- 
ter as produced a warrant from the council. The parlia- 
ment voted a renunciation of all titles iii Charles Stuart, 
or any of his family ; and colonel Jephson, in order to 
sound the inchnations of the house, ventured to move, 
that they should bestow the crown on Cromwell. When the 
protector afterwards affected to ask what could induce him 
to make such a motion ; " As long," said Jephson, " as I 
have the honour to sit in parliament, I must follow the 
dictates of my own conscience, whatever offence I may be 
so unfortunate as to give you." " Get thee gone," said 
Cromv/eil, giving him a gentle blow on the shoulder, " get 
thee gone for a mad fellow as thou art." 

At length, a motion in form was made by alderman Pack, 
one of the city members, for investing Cromwell with the 
royal dignity. The chief opposition came from the usual 
adherentsof the protector, the general officers, particular- 
ly Lambert, who had long entertained hopes of succeeding 
him. However, the bill was carried by a considerable ma- 
jority ; and a committee was appointed to reason with 
Cromwell, and to overcome the scruples which he 

-* ^* pretended against such a liberal offer. The confer- 
ence lasted several days ; but the opposition which 
Cromwell dreaded was not that which came from Lambert 
and bis adherents : it was that which he met with in his 
own family, and from men the most devoted to his inter- 
ests. Fleetwood had married his daughter, and Desborow 
his sister ; yet these men told him, that if he accepted of 
the crown, they would instantly throw up their commis- 
sions, and render it impossible for them to serve him. In 
short, it is said that a general mutiny of the army was just- 
ly dreaded, if this ambitious project had been carried into 
execution ; and therefore Cromwell, after long doubt and 
perplexity, was- at last obliged to refuse the crown. The 
parliament, however, gave him the power of nominating 
his successor, and assigned him a perpetual revenue for 
the payment of the fleet and army, and the support of the 
civil government. 

The parliament was again assembled, and the 

ifif^R projector endeavoured to maintain the appearance 
* of a civil magistrate, by placing no guards at the 



THE COMMONWEALTH. 336 

door of either house ; but he soon found how incompatible 
liberty is with a mihtary usurpation. The commons as- 
sumed the power of re-admiting those members whom the 
council had formerly excluded ; and an incontestible ma- 
jority declared themselves against the protector. Dread- 
ing combinations between the members and the malcon- 
tents in the army, Cromwell determined to dissolve the 
parliament without delay ; and when urged by Fleetwood 
and others of his friends not to precipitate himself into so 
rash a measure, he swore by the living God that they should 
not sit a moment longer. 

These distractions at home, however, did not render the 
protector inattentive to foreign affairs. The Spaniards 
were defeated at Dunes by the combined armies of France 
and England ; and Dunkirk being soon after surrendered, 
was delivered to Cromwell. He committed the govern- 
ment of that important place to Lockhart, who had married 
his niece, and was his ambassador at the court of France. 

These successes abroad were more than counterbalan- 
ced by his inquietudes at home. The royalists and presby- 
terians entered into a conspiracy, which being discovered, 
numbers were thrown into prison, and sir Henry Slingsby 
and Dr. Huett were condemned to be beheaded. The 
army was ripe for a mutiny ; and Fleetwood and his wife, 
w'ho had adopted republican principles, began to estrange 
themselves from Cromwell. His other daughters were 
no less prejudiced in favour of the royal cause ; and the 
death of Mrs. Claypole, his pecuHar favourite, destroyed 
all his enjoyments. 

All composure of mind seemed now for ever fled from 
the protector. He saw nothing around him but treache- 
rous friends or enraged enemies ; and death, which he had 
so often braved in the field, haunted him in every scene of 
business or repose. Every action betrayed the terrors 
under which he laboured. He never moved a step with- 
out guards ; he wore armour under his clothes ; and he 
seldom slept above three nights together in the same 
chamber. 

The contagion of his mind began to affect his body. 
He was seized with a slow fever, which chancred into a 
tertian ague. Dangerous symptoms soon made their ap- 
pearance. Casting his eyes towards that future existence, 
which though once familiar to him, had been considerably 



334 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

obliterated by the hurry of business, Cromwell asked Good- 
win, one of his preachers, if it were true that the elect 
could never fall or suffer final reprobation ? " Nothing 
more certain," replied the preacher. " Then I am safe," 
said the protector, " for I am sure that 1 was once in a 
state of grace." 

He died on the third of September, a day which he had 
always considered as propitious to him, in the fifty-ninth 
year of his age. A violent tempest, which immediately 
succeeded his death, served as a subject of discourse to the 
vulgar ; and his partisans, as well as his enemies, endeav- 
oured, by forced inferences, to interpret this event as a 
confirmation of their particular prejudices. 

The private conduct of Cromwell, as a son, a husband, 
a father, and a friend, merits praise rather than censure ; 
and, upon the whole, his character was a compound of all 
the virtues and all the vices which spring from violent am- 
bition and wild fanaticism. 

Cromwell was surrounded with so many difficulties, thai 
it was thought he could not much longer have extended 
his usurped administration ; but when that powerful hand 
was removed, which conducted the government, every one 
expected a sudden dissolution of the baseless fabric. 
Richard, his son, possessed no talents for government, and 
only the virtues of private life ; yet the council recognised 
his succession. His brother Henry, who governed Ireland 
with popularity, insured him the obedience of that king- 
dom ; and Monk, who was much attached to the family 
of Cromwell, proclaimed the new protector in Scotland, 
Above ninety addresses from the counties and most con« 
siderable corporations congratulated Richard on his 
ififiQ* accession ; and a parliament being called, all the 
commons at first, without hesitation, signed an 
engagement not to alter the present government. 

But there was another quarter from which greater dan- 
gers were justly apprehended. The most considerable 
officers of the army, with Fleetwood and Lambert at their 
head, were entering into cabals against Richard. The 
young protector, having neither resolution nor penetration, 
was prevailed on to give his consent for calling a general 
council of officers, who were no sooner assembled, than 
they voted a remonstrance, in which they lamented thai 
the ^ood old cause^ as they termed it, was neglected ; and 



THE COMMONWEALTH. 335 

they proposed, as a remedy, that the whole military power 
should be intrusted to some pigrson, in whom they might 
all confide. 1 he protector was justly alarmed at these 
movements among the officers ; and some of his partisans 
offered to put an end to these intrigues by the death of 
Lambert ; but Richard declared that he would not pur- 
chase power by such sanguinary measures. 

The parliament was no less alarmed at these military 
cabals, and passed a vote, that there should be no general 
council of officers, without the protector's consent. This 
brought matters to a crisis. The officers hastened to 
Richard, and demanded the dissolution of the parliament. 
The protector wanted the resolution to deny, and possess- 
ed little ability to resist this demand ; and he soon after 
signed his own resignation in form. Henry, the deputy of 
Ireland, was endowed wiih the same moderate disposition 
as his brother ; and though his popularity and intluence 
in that country were very considerable, he quietly resign- 
ed his authority and returned to England. 

Thus fell, at once, the protectorate house of Cromwell ; 
but, by a rare fortune, it sutfered no molestation. Richard 
continued to possess an estate, which he had burdened 
with a debt contracted for the interment of his father. 
After the restoration, though unmolested, he travelled for 
some years, and then returning to England, lived to an ex- 
treme old age. He was beloved for his social virtues, 
and happier in tranquillity and retirement than he could 
have been by the applause of empty fame and the gratifi- 
cations of the most successful ambition. 

The council of officers, in whom the supreme authority 
was now lodged, agreed to revive the long parliament. 
The members little exceeded seventy in number ; but they 
took care to thwart the measures of the officers ; and they 
appointed Fleetwood lieutenant-general only during the 
pleasure of the house. 

The conduct of the parliament gave great disgust to the 
general-officers, who resolved to dissolve an assembly by 
which they were vehemently opposed. Accordingly, Lam- 
bert drew together some troops, and intercepting the 
members as they came to the house, sent them home under 
a military escort. 

The officers now found themselves again in possession of 

29* 



33ti mSTORY OF ENGLAND^ 

supreme power ; but to save appearances, they elected 
twenty-three persons, called a committee of safety^ which 
they pretended to invest with sovereign authority. 
Throughout the three kingdoms there prevailed nothing 
but melancholy fears of a bloody massacre to the nobihty 
and gentry, and of perpetual servitude to the^rest of the 
people. 

But amidst these gloomy prospects, a means was pre- 
paring for the king to mount in peace the throne of his an- 
cestors. General George Monk, to whose prudence and 
loyalty the restoration of the monarchy is chiefly to be aS' 
cribed, was the second son of an honourable family in De- 
vonshire, but somewhat gone to decay. He had betaken 
himself, in early youth, to the profession of arms ; and by 
liis humane disposition he gained the good will of the sol- 
diers, who usually called him honest George Monk. He was 
remarkable for his moderation ; and, from the candour of 
his behaviour, he fell under suspicion of the royalists, and 
was suspended for a time. At the siege of Nantwich, he 
was taken prisoner by Fairfax, and sent to the Tower, 
where he endured, about two years, all the rigours of pov- 
erty and confinement ; and it was not till after the royalists 
were totally subdued that he recovered his liberty. 

Monk, however distressed, had alway refused the most 
inviting offers from the parliament ; but Cromwell, sensi- 
ble of his merit, prevailed on him to engage in the wars 
against the Irish, who were considered as rebels both by 
the king and parliament. He afterwards fought in Scot- 
land, and on the reduction of that kingdom, was left with 
the supreme command. In that capacity, he gave satisfac- 
tion both to the people and the soldiery ; and foreseeing 
that the good will of the army might eventually be of great 
service to him, he cultivated their friendship with assiduity 
and success. 

Hearing that Lambert was advancing northward, Monk 
sent commissioners to treat with the committee of safety ; 
but his chief aim was to gain time, and relax the prepara- 
tions of his enemies. In the mean time, the nation had 
fallen into anarchy. While Lambert's forces were assem- 
bling at Newcastle, Hazelrig and Morley took possession 
of Portsmouth for the parliament; and admiral La wson, en- 
tering the river Thames, declared on the same side. The 
city of London established a kind of separate governmejit 



THE COMMONWEALTH. 337 

within itself ; and Fleetwood was unable to support the 
baseless fabric, which was every where falling to pieces. 

Monk, who had passed the Tweed, though informed of 
the restoration of parliament, continued to advance at the 
head of about six thousand men. In all the counties 
through which he passed, the gentry flocked to him wath 
addresses, requesting that he would assist in restoring the 
nation to peace and tranquillity ; but he affected not to fa- 
vour them. 

Monk and his army soon reached the metropolis. 
The common-council of London having refused to ^^/^^ 
submit to an assessment, and declared that till a 
free parhament imposed taxes they would make no pay- 
ment, Monk was ordered to march into the city, and seize 
twelve persons the most obnoxious to the parliament. 
With this order he immediately complied, and apprehend- 
ed as many as he could of the proscribed persons ; but 
soon reflecting that by this action he had broke through the 
cautious ambiguity which he had hitherto maintained, and 
rendered himself the tool of a parliament whose tyranny 
had long been odious to the nation, he wrote a letter to the 
house, requiring them, in the name of the citizens, sol- 
diers, and whole commonwealth, to issue writs within a 
week for the filling of their assembly, and to fix the time 
for their own dissolution and the meeting of a new parlia- 
ment. He then marched with his army into the city, and 
requesting the mayor to summon a common council, he 
apologized for his late conduct, and desired that they 
might mutually plight their faith for a strict union between 
the city and army, in every measure which might conduce 
to the settlement of the commonwealth. 

It would be impossible to describe the joy which this 
intelhgence conveyed ; and the funeral of the parliament 
was celebrated by the populace with marks of hatred and 
derision. The secluded members were invited by the 
general to enter the house, and appeared to be the major- 
ity. Votes were passed favourable to the views of Monk ; 
and writs were issued for the immediate assembling of a 
new parliament. 

When the parliament met, sir Harbottle Grimstone, a 
gentleman well affected to the king's service, was chosen 
speaker -, and the general having sounded the inclinations 
of ihQ assembly, gave directions to the president cf the 



338 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

council to inform them, that one sir John Granville, a ser- 
vant of the king, was now at the door with a letter to the 
commons. This intelligence excited the loudest acclama- 
tions ; Granville was called in ; and, without one dissent- 
ing voice, a committee was ajjpointed to prepare an answer. 

The king's declaration, which was immediately publish- 
ed, offered a general amnesty, with the exception only of 
such persons as should be made by parliament ; it promi- 
sed liberty of conscience ; and assured the soldiers of all 
their arrears, with a continuance oi the same pay. 

The lords, perceiving the spirit by which the kingdom, 
as well as the commons, was animated, hastened to rein- 
state themselves in their ancient authorrty ; and the two 
houses attended, while the king was proclaimed with great 
solemnity in Palace-yard, at VVnitehali, and at Temple-bar. 
A committee of lords and commons was despatched to in- 
vite his majesty to return, and take possession of the 
throne ; and the king, embarking at Scheveling, landed at 
Dover, where he was met by Monk, whom he cordially 
embraced. On the 29th of May, which was also his birth- 
day, Charles entered London, amidst the most joyful con- 
oratuiations. 



CHAP. VI. 

T%e Reign of Charles IL 

When Charles II. ascended the throne, he was thirty 
years of age. He possessed a vigorous constitution, 
. ' * a fine shape, a manly figure, and a graceful air ; 
' and though his features were harsh, yet his counte- 
nance was lively and engaging. No prince ever received 
a crown with the more cordial attachment of his subjects ; 
and the ease and affability of his manners were well cal- 
culated to confirm this popularity. 

In the choice of his ministers, the king gave great satis- 
faction to the nation. Sir Edward Hyde, created earl of 
Clarendon, was chancellor and prime-minister ; the duke 
of Ormond, steward of the household ; the earl of South- 
ampton, high-treasurer ; and sir Edward Nicholas, secre- 
tary of state. Admiral Montague, who had carried a fleet 



CHARLES 11. 339 

to receive his majesty, without waiting for the orders of 
parliament, was created earl of Sandwich ; and Monk, who 
without effusion of blood, by his cautious and disinterest- 
ed conduct, settled the affairs of the three kingdoms, and 
restored his injured sovereign to the vacant throne, was 
created duke of Albemarle. Into the king's council were 
admitted the most eminent men of the nation, without re- 
gard to former distinctions ; the presbyterians, equally 
with the royahsts, shared this honour. 

All judicial proceedings, transacted in the name of the 
commonwealth, or protector, were ratified by a new law ; 
and the act of indemnity passed both houses, and soon re- 
ceived the royal assent. The regicides, with Vane and 
Lambert, were alone excepted ; and all who had sitten 
in any illegal high court of justice, were declared incapa- 
ble of bearing any office in the state. 

The next business was the settlement of the king's reve- 
nue. They granted him one hundred thousand pounds 
a-year, in lieu of the tenures of wards and liveries, which 
had long been considered as a grievous burden by the no- 
bility and gentry ; and they voted, that the settled revenue 
of the crown, for all charges, should amount to the annual 
sum of one million two hundred thousand pounds ; but, 
still jealous of liberty, they scarcely assigned sufficient 
funds for two thirds of that sum ; and thus left the care of 
fulfilling their engagements to the future consideration of 
parliament. 

The next object which interested the public, was the 
trial and condemnation of the regicides. Harrison, Scot, 
Carew, Clement, Jones, Scrope, Axtel, Hacker, Coke, 
and Hugh Peters, suffered with the confidence of martyrs. 
The rest of the king's judges were reprieved. 

After the parliament had sitten about two months, the 
king dissolved that assembly in a speech full of the most 
gracious expressions. The army was also disbanded ; and 
no more troops were retained than a few guards and gar- 
risons, about one thousand horse and four thousand foot. 
This, however, was the first appearance of a regular 
standing army, under the monarchy, in this island. 

Clarendon, whose daughter, Ann Hyde, was now mar- 
ried to the duke of York, by his wisdom, his justice, and 
his prudence, equally promoted the interest of the king 
and the people ; but his conduct in the management of ec* 



340 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

clesiastical affairs lias been censured by many. Charles 
having observed that presbyterianism viras not a religion 
for a gentleman, it was resolved to restore prelacy in Scot- 
land. Sharp, who had been commissioned by the presby- 
terians in Scotland to manage their interests with the king, 
w^as persuaded to abandon his party, and, as a reward 
for his tergiversation, was created archbishop of St. An- 
drews. The conduct of ecclesiastical affairs was chiefly 
intrusted to him ; and he became extremely obnoxious to 
his former friends. 

In England, the new parliament, laying hold of the pre- 
judices which prevailed among the presbyterian sect, in 
order to eject them from their livings, required that every 
clergyman should be re-ordained, if he had not before re- 
ceived episcopal ordination ; should declare his 
\f{P>9 ^^^^^^ ^^ every thing contained in the Book of 
Common Prayer ; should take the oath of canonical 
obedience ; should abjure the solemn league and covenant ; 
and should renounce the principle of taking arms against 
the king, on any pretence whatsoever. This act, and others 
which passed about the same time, have been the best sup- 
ports of the state, by joining it closely with the church. It 
must however, be confessed, that by these enactments the 
king's promises of toleration and indulgence to tender con- 
sciences was entirely eluded or broken. About two thou- 
sand of the clergy, in one day, relinquished their cures, 
and sacrificed their interest to their principles. 

Before the parhament rose, the court was employed in 
preparing for the reception of the princess Catherine of 
Portugal, to whom the king was betrothed, and with whom 
he received five hundred thousand pounds, and the two 
fortresses of Tangier in Africa, and Bombay in the East 
Indies, by way of dowry. fhis marriage, however, was 
far from proving auspicious, as the queen was never able 
to win the affections of her husband. 

Charles, pressed by pecuniary difficulties, in order to 
raise money, as well as to save expenses, sold Dunkirk to 
France, for four hundred thousand pounds. To this mea- 
sure he was advised by Clarendon. The value of this ac- 
quisition was so little understood by the French king, that 
he thought he had made a hard bargain. 

Charles issued a declaration, under pretence of mitiga- 
ting the rigours contained m the act of uniformity ; but th(^ 



CHARLES II. 341 

foundation of this measure was of a very different nature. 
The king, during his exile, had imbibed strong prejudices 
in favour of the cathoHc religion ; and though he fluctua- 
ted during his whole reign, between irreligion, which he 
more openly professed, and popery, to which he retained 
a strong propensity, his brother the duke of York had 
entered with zeal into all the principles of that theological 
party, and by his application to business, which Charles 
disliked, had acquired a great ascendancy over him. On 
pretence of easing the protestant dissenters, they agreed 
upon a plan for introducing a general toleration, and 
giving the catholics the free exercise of their religion, at 
least in private houses. The parliament, however, refused 
their concurrence in this measure ; and in order to 
deprive the catholics of all hopes, the two houses ^npc^ 
agreed in a remonstrance against them. The king 
insisted no farther at present on this project of indulgence ; 
and he issued a vague proclamation against Jesuits and 
Romish priests. In return for this the commons voted 
him a supply of four subsidies ; and this was the last time 
that taxes were levied in that manner. 

In proportion as the king found himself established on 
the throne, he began to alienate himself from Clarendon, 
whose character was so little suited to his own. Charles's 
partiality for the catholi< s was always o[>posed by this minis- 
ter, who, conscious of integrity and of iaithful services, dis- 
dained to enter into any connexion with the royal mistresses. 

The irregular pleasures of C harles, and the little regard 
be paid, to decency in his public mistresses, could not but 
give offence to the nation. It was found that the virtues 
which he possessed were more showy than substantial; that 
his bounty proceeded rather from facility of disposition than 
generosity ; that while he seemed affable to all, his heart 
was little susceptible of friendship ; and that he secretly en- 
tertained a bad opinion of mankind, no proof that he was 
actuated by better motives. But what was most injurious 
to the king's reputation, was the neglett of his own and his 
father's adherents, whom he suffered to remain in poverty 
and distress, aggravated by the cruel disappointment of their 
sanguine hopes, and by seeing favour and preferment be- 
stowed on their most inveterate foes. The act of indem- 
nity and obhvion was generally denominated, and in many 



# 



342 HISTORY Of ENGLAND. 

eases too justly, an act of indemnity to the king's enemie? 
and of oblivion to his friends. 

The king having demanded a repeal of the triennial act, 
the parliament abrogated the law, and satisfied themselves 
with a general clause, that parliaments should not be inau- 
gurated above three years at most. The commons like- 
wise passed a vote that the indignities offered to the Eng- 
lish, by the subjects of the United States, were the great- 
est obstructions to all foreign trade. This was the first 
open step towards a war with the Dutch. Charles did 
not confine himself to memorials and remonstrances. Sir 
Robert Holmes was secretly despatched with a squadron 
of twenty-two ships to the coast of Africa, where he ex- 
pelled the Dutch from cape Corse, and seized their settle- 
ments at cape Verd and in the isle of Goree. He then sail- 
ed to America, where he possessed himseif of Nova Belgia, 
since called New-York, which James the First had grant- 
ed by patent to the earl of Stirling, but which had never 
been planted except by the Hollanders. 

When the States complained of these hostile measures, 
the king pretended to be ignorant of Holme's enterprise ; 
and the Dutch, finding their applications for redress likely 
to be eluded, despatched de Ruyter with a fleet, to retaliate 
on the English. De Ruyter met with no opposi- 
1 fifij* ^^^^ ^^ Guinea. All the new acquisitions of the 
English, except cape Corse, were recovered from 
them ; and they were also dispossessed of some old set- 
tlements. 

The Dutch, however, tried every expedient before they 
would proceed to extremities ; and their measures were at 
that time directed by John de Witt, a minister equally 
eminent for ability and integrity. He caused a navy to be 
equipped, surpassing any that had ever before been pre- 
pared in the ports of Holland. 

As soon as the intelligence arrived of de Ruyter's en- 
terprises, Charles declared war against the States. The 
English fleet consisted of one hundred and fourteen 

AD 

i^n^ sail, besides fire-ships and ketches, and was com- 

* manded by the duke of York, and under him by 

prince Rupert, and the earl of Sandwich. Obdam, the 

Dutch admiral, had nearly an equal force, and on meeting 

iie declined not the combat. In the heat of action, when 



CHARLES II. 343 

engaged in close fight with the duke of York, Obdam's ship 
blew up. This accident disconcerted the Dutch, who fled 
towards their own coast. Tromp alone, son of the famous 
admiral killed in the former war, bravely sustained with 
his squadron the efforts of the English, and protected the 
rear of his countrymen. The vanquished had nineteen 
ships sunk or taken ; the victors lost only one. In this 
action the duke of York behaved with great bravery ; the 
earl of Falmouth, lord Muskerry, and Mr. Boyle, were 
killed by one shot, at his side, and covered him with their 
brains and gore. 

The abilities of de Witt were employed in reviving the 
declining courage of his countrymen ; and he soon reme- 
died all the disorders occasioned by the late misfortune. 
The king of France, who was engaged in a defensive alli- 
ance with the States, resolved to support the Dutch in this 
unequal contest. 

The English, however, experienced a more dreadful 
calamity than even that of a war. The plague had broken 
out in London, and carried off ninety thousand persons ; 
and the king was obliged to summon a parliament at Ox- 
ford. 

The king of France had ordered his admiral, the duke 
of Beaufort, to proceed from Toulon, and support his 
allies ; and the French squadron, consisting of above forty 
sail, was now supposed to be entering the channel. The 
Dutch fleet, under the command of De Ruyter, to 
the number of seventy-six sail, was at sea, in order - ' ' 
to join the French. The duke of Albemarle and 
prince Rupert commanded the English fleet, whicfh did 
not exceed seventy-four sail. Albemarle, who despised 
the enemy too much, despatched prmce Rupert with 
twenty ships to oppose the duke of Beaufort ; and with 
the remainder, he set sail to give battle to the Dutch, 
Never did a more memorable engagement take place j 
whether we consider its long duration, or 'the desperate 
courage with which it was fought. 

On the first day the wind blew so hard that the EngHsh 
could not use their lower tier of guns ; and their sails and 
rigging were injured by the Dutch chain-shot, a new inven- 
tion ascribed to de Witt ; but the battle was contested till 
darkness parted the combatants. On the second day, 
during the action, sixteen fresh ships joined the Dutch 

30 



344 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

fleet, while the English had no more than twenty-eight 
in a situation for fighting. This obliged Albemarle to re- 
treat towards the English coast, which he did with an 
undaunted countenance, protesting to the earl of Ossory, 
son to the duke of Ormond, that he would rather blow up 
his ship and perish than strike to the enemy. The Dutch 
had come up with the English, and were about to renew 
the engagement, when the squadron of prince Rupert was 
descried, crowding all their sail to reach the scene of ac- 
tion. Next morning the battle began afresh, and continu- 
ed with great violence till suspenided by a mist. The Eng- 
lish retired first into their own harbours. 

De Ruyter now posted himself at the mouth of the 
Thames ; but the English, under prince Rupert and Albe- 
marle, were not long in coming to attack him. This en- 
gagement was again fierce and obstinate, and three Dutch 
admirals fell ; but De Ruyter maintained the combat, and 
kept his station, till darkness put an end to the contest. 
Next day, finding the Dutch fleet scattered, h'e was obliged 
to submit to a retreat, which yet he conducted with so 
much skill as to render it equally honourable to himself 
as the greatest victory. Full of indignation, however, at 
yielding the superiority to the English, he frequently ex- 
claimed, " My God ! what a wretch I am ! among so many 
thousand bullets, is there not one to put an end to my 
miserable life 1" The Dutch, by the greatest exertions^ 
saved themselves in their harbours ; and the English now 
rode incontestible masters of the sea. 

A calamity, however, happened in London, which oc- 
casioned the greatest consternation. A most dreadful fire 
broke out in the city, and spreading in spite of every 
endeavour to check its destructive progress, consumed 
about four hundred streets and thirteen thousand houses, 
Durincc three days and nights the fire continued to advance; 
and it was at last extinguished only by the blowing up of 
houses. Popular prejudice ascribed this calamity to the 
catholics ; and though no proof ever appeared to authorize 
such a calumny, it is sanctioned by the inscription on the 
monument, which records the conflagration. 

As the Dutch were every day becoming more formida- 
ble, Charles began to be sensible, that alLthe ends for which 
the -war had been undertaken were likely to prove abor- 
tive. This induced him to make the first advances tb^''ard.s^ 



CHARLES II. 345 

an accommodation, and matters were in a state of forward- 
ness, when the king, by imprudently discontinuing his pre- 
parations, exposed England to a great aflfront, and even to 
great danger. 

The penetrating mind of De Witt discovered the oppor- 
tunity for retrieving the honour of the States ; and he em- 
braced it. The Dutch fleet, under De Ruyter, appeared 
in the Thames, and bursting the chain which had been 
drawn across the Medway, advanced as far as Upnore 
castle, and burnt several ships. They next sailed to Ports- 
mouth and Plymouth, and insulted Harwich. The whole 
coast was in alarm ; and had the French joined the Dutch 
fleet and invaded England, the most serious consequences 
might have ensued. The signing of the treaty of Breda, 
however, saved England from this danger ; and the acqui- 
sition of New- York was the principal advantage which the 
Enghsh reaped from a war, in which the national charac- 
ter for bravery had appeared with so much lustre. 

To appease the people for their disappointments, some 
sacrifice was necessary ; and the prejudices of the nation 
pointed out the victim. The sale of Dunkirk, the disgrace 
at Chatham, and the unsuccessful conclusion of the war, 
were all attributed to Clarendon. The king himself, who 
had always revered rather than loved the chancellor, was 
glad to be freed from a minister who, amidst the dissolute 
manners of the court, maintained an inflexible dignity, and 
would not suffer his masters Hcentious pleasures to pass 
without reprehension. The memory of his former services 
could not delay his fall ; and the great seal was taken 
from him, and given to sir Orlando Bridgman. 

The duke of York in vain exerted his interest in behalf 
of bis father-in-law. The commons voted an impeach- 
ment against him ; and Clarendon, finding that neither his 
innocence nor his past services were sufliicient to protect 
him, retired into France, where he lived six years after the 
parliament had decreed his banishment. He employed his 
leisure chiefly in reducing to order the history of the civil 
war, for which he had before collected materials, and 
which is a performance that does honour to his memory. 

The king's councils, which had always been neg- 
ligent and fluctuating, now became actually crimi- |A«rJ 
nal. Men, in whose honour and integrity the na- 
tion confided, were excluded from any deliberations ; and 



346 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

the whole secret of government was intrusted to five per- 
sons, Clifford, Ashley, Buckingham, Arlington, and Lau- 
derdale, called the Cabal, a word which the initial letters 
of their names happened to compose. 

The dark counsels of the cabal, though from the first 
they gave anxiety to all men of reflection, were not sufl[i- 
ciently known but by the event. They inspired the king 
with a jealousy of parliaments, and advised him to recover 
that authority in the nation, which his predecessors, du- 
ring so many ages, had possessed ; and they insinuated to 
Charles, that it would be for his interest, to detach him- 
self from the triple alliance, not long before concluded 
between England, Holland and Sweden, and form a close 
intimacy with France. It was, however, by the artifices of 
his sister, the dutchess of Orleans, that the king was pre- 
vailed on to relinquish the most settled maxims of honour 
and policy, and to finish his engagements with the French 
monarch, as well for the destruction of Holland, as for a 
subsequent change of religion in England. 

About this time, Blood, a disbanded officer of the pro- 
tector's, who had been attainted for engaging in a conspi- 
racy in Ireland, meditate-d revenge on the duke of Ormond, 
the lord-lieutenant. He seized the duke m the streets of 
London, but Ormond was saved by his servants. Buck- 
ingham was at first suspected of being the author of this 
attempt ; and the marquis of Ossory coming to court, and 
seeing Buckingham near the king, said to him, " My lord, 
I know well that you are at the bottom of the late attempt 
upon my father ; but, I give you warning, that if by any 
means he come to a violent end, 1 shall consider you as 
the assassin, and wherever I meet you, I will pistol you, 
though you stood behind the king's chair ; and I tell you 
this in his majesty's presence, that you may be sure I will 
not fail in the performance." 

Soon after. Blood formed the design of carrying off the 
crown and regalia from the tower, and was very near suc- 
ceeding in this enterprise. Being secured, however, and 
examined, he refused to name his accomplices. "The 
fear of death," he said, " shall never force me either to 
deny a guilt, or betray a friend." The king was moved 
by an idle curiosity to see a person so remarkable for his 
courage and his crimes. Blood now considered himself 



CHARLES ii. 347 

sure of pardon ; and he told Charles, that he had been en- 
gaged with others to shoot him, but that his heart had been 
checked with the awe of majesty at the moment of execu- 
tion. He added, that his associates had bound themselves 
by the strictest oaths to revenge the death of any one of 
the confederacy. Whether the king was influenced by 
fear or admiration, he pardoned the villain, and granted 
him an estate of five hundred pounds a-year in Ireland ; 
while old Edwards, the keeper of the jewel-office, who 
had been wounded in defending the crown and regalia, 
was forgotten and neglected. 

Under pretence of maintaining the triple league, which 
at that very time he had resolved to break, Charles obtain- 
ed a large supply from the commons. This, however, was 
soon exhausted by debts and expenses ; and, as it seemed 
dangerous to venture on levying money, without consent 
of parliament, the king declared that the statFof treasurer 
was ready for any one who could devise the means of sup- 
plying his present necessities. Ashley dropped a hint to 
Clifford, which the latter adopted and carried to the king, 
who granted him the promised reward, and also a peerage, 
for what ought to have brought him to the gallows. This 
expedient was the shutting up of the exchequer, and re- 
taining all the payments which should be made into it.'^ 

This breach of domestic honour was follov»?ed by foreign 
transactions of a similar complexion. On the most 
false and frivolous pretexts, Charles issued a de- ^nrrg 
claration of war against the Dutch ; and this was 
seconded by another from Louis XiV. To oppose this 

*It may be accessary to observe, that bankers used to carry 
(heir money to the excljequer, and advance it upon the security 
of the funds, by which they were afterwards reimbursed, when 
tike money was levied on the public. The bankers, by this traffic, 
got eight per cent, or more, for sums which had either been as- 
signed to them without interest, or which they had borrowed at 
six per cent. ; profits which they dearly paid for, by this egregi- 
ous breach of public faith. The measure was so suddenly taken, 
that none had warning of the danger. A general confusion pre- 
vailed in the city, followed by the ruin of many. Distress every 
where took place, with a stagnation of commerce, by which the 
public'' ^s universally affected ; and men, full of the most dismal 
appreu^ . ions, were at a loss to account for such unprecedented 
and iniquitous counselsj by which the public credit was destroyed. 

30* 



348 HISTORY OF £NGLANDc 

formidable confederacy, De Witt exerted himself to the 
utmost ; but his merits had begotten envy, and the popular 
affection began to display itself in favour of William III. 
prince of Oran^, then in the twenty-second year of hit 
age, whom De Witt himself had instructed in all the prin- 
ciples of government and sound poUcy, and who was 
brought forward as his rival. 

The straggle between the two factions retarded every 
measure. However, at length, a raw army of seventy 
thousand men was raised, and the prince was appointed 
both general and admiral of the commonwealth ; but his 
partisans were still unsatisfied, as long as the perpetual 
edict remained in force, by which he was excluded from 
the stadtholderate. 

Devoted solely to the interests of his country, De Witt 
disdained all party-spirit, and hastened the equipment of 
a fleet, which put to sea under the command of De Ruyter, 
who was srongiy attached to him. This armament con- 
sisted of ninety-one ships of war, and forty-four fire-ships ; 
and with these De Ruyter surprised at Soiebay the com- 
bined fleets of France and England. The earl of Sand- 
wich had warned the duke of York of his danger, and re- 
ceived only for answer, that there was more of caution 
than of courage in his apprehensions ; but on the appear- 
ance of the enemy, he alone, with his squadron, was pre- 
pared for action. Sandwich commanded the van, and 
rushed into battle with the Dutch. He beat off one ship, 
and sunk another. He also destroyed three fire-ships, 
which endeavoured to grapple with him ; and though his 
own vessel was torn almost in pieces with shot, and nearly 
six hundred out of a thousand men lay dead on the deck, 
he still continued the contest. Another fire-ship, however, 
having laid hold of his vessel, her destruction was now in- 
evitable, and he was advised by his captain to retire ; but 
he preferred death to the appearance of deserting his 
post. 

During this fierce engagement with Sandwich, De Ruy- 
ter attacked the duke of York, who fought with such fury 
for above two hours, that of thirty two actions, in which the 
Dutch admiral had been engaged, he declared this was 
the most severe. The battle continued till night, when 



CHARLES n. 349 

the Dutch retired, and were not followed by the English, 
and the loss sustained on both sides was nearly equal. 

Louis advanced with his troops into Holland, and over- 
ran the country almost without opposition. Amsterdam 
alone seemed to retain some courage. The sluices were 
opened, and the neighbouring country laid under water. 
All the provinces now followed the example, and scrupled 
not, in this extremity, to restore to the sea those fertile 
fields which had formerly been won from it. 

The combined potentates, finding at last some appear- 
ance of opposition, endeavoured to seduce the prince of 
Orange, who in consequence of the murder of De Witt, 
had obtained the whole ascendancy in public affairs. They 
ofiered him the sovereignty of Holland, and the protection 
of England and France, to insure him as well against for- 
eign invasion, as the insurrection of his own subjects. 
All proposals, however, were generously rejected ; and, 
when Buckingham urged the inevitable destruction that 
hung over the United Provinces, and asked him, whether 
he did not see whether the commonwealth was ruined, he 
replied, "There is one certain means by which 1 can be 
sure never to see m.y country's ruin ; I will die in the last 
ditch." 

In the mean time, the other nations of Europe regarded 
the subjection of Holland as the forerunner of their own 
slavery. The emperor began to put himself in motion ; 
and Spain sent some forces to the assistance of the States ; 
but the ally on which the Dutch chieliy relied for support, 
was the English parliament, which the king's necessities 
at last obliged him to assemble. The parliament, however, 
granted a supply, but refused to express the smallest ap- 
probation of the war ; and they afforded Charles the pros- 
pect of this supply, only that they might be allowed to pro- 
ceed in the redress of grievances. 

The money granted by parliament served to equip a 
fleet, of which prince Rupert was declared admiral ; for 
the duke of York was set aside by the test act, which 
passed during the present session. Three different, but 
indecisive actions, were fought at sea ; the last was the 
most obstinate. The victory, however, in this battle, was 
as doubtful as in all the actions fought during the present 
war. 



350 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

The parliament of England being again assembled, dis- 
covered greater symptoms of jealousy than before, and 
remonstrated against a marriage which the duke of York, 
who had for some time been a widower, was negotiating 
with a catholic princess of the house of Modena. What, 
however, chiefly alarmed the court, was an attack on the 
members of the cabal, to whose pernicious counsels the 
parhament imputed all their grievances. This produced 
a change in the ministry, somewhat in lavour of the nation ; 
but the duke having concluded the proposed match, and 
the war with Holland being more unpopular than ever, 
Charles found that he could obtain no more sup- 
</^„/ plies, while the present measures were pursued. 
He resolved, therefore, on a separate peace, which 
was negotiated under the Spanish ambassador, and was 
concluded on terms honourable to England, and to the 
great joy of the people. 

The war, however, still continued between Holland and 
France, and the events to which it gave rise were regarded 
by the English people with extreme anxiety. Parliament 
viewed with much jealousy the measures of government, 
and the king's secret attachments to France. This jea- 
lousy was increased by a bill introduced into the 
■tny-r house of peers, by the earl of Lindesey, the object 
of which was, to oblige the members of both hou- 
ses, and all who possessed any office, to swear, that it was 
unlawful, on any pretence whatever, to take arms against 
the king, and that they would not at any time endeavour 
any alteration in the established government, either in 
church or state. Great opposition was made to this bill, 
which was debated for seventeen days, and was carried 
only by two voices in the house of peers. In the com- 
mons it was likely to meet with siill greater opposition ; 
but a quarrel arising between the two houses, respecting a 
breach of privilege, the king finding that no business could 
be completed in consequence of this altercation, prorogued 
the parliament. 

At this period, the king was the undisputed arbiter of 
Europe ; and though he was sensible, that so long as the 
war continued he should enjoy no tranquillity at home, he 
could not bring himself to impose a peace by openly join- 
ing either party. 



CHARLES II. 351 

The parliament again assembled, after an adjournment of 
more than a year, and Charles made strong professions of 
future economy, and offered his consent to any laws 
for the farther security of rehgion and property. lA-yy' 
At first the commons proceeded with some degree 
of temper, and granted the sum of five hundred and 
eighty-six thousand pounds for building ships; but hear- 
ing of the defeat of the prince of Orange by marshal 
Luxemburgh, and of the capture of Valenciennes, Cam- 
bray, and St. Omer, by Louis, they addressed the king, 
representing the danger to which England was exposed, 
from the increasing greatness of France, and praying, that 
by such alliances as he should think fit to enter into, he 
would endeavour to secure both his own dominions and the 
Spanish Netherlands. Charles, considering this applica- 
tion as an attack on his measures, replied in general terms, 
that he would use all means for the preservation of Flan- 
ders, consistent with the peace and safety of his kingdoms. 
This answer was regarded as an evasion, or rather a denial ; 
and the commons, instead of granting a supply, which the 
king had demanded, voted an address, wherein they be- 
sought his majesty to enter into a league, offensive and 
defensive, with the States-general of the United Provinces, 
against the growth and power of the French king, and for 
the preservation of the Spanish Netherlands, and to make 
such other alliances with the confederates as should ap- 
pear fit and useful to that end. On these conditions they 
promised him effectual supplies ; but Charles pretended 
to consider this address as an encroachment on his preroga- 
tive ; and after. reproving the commons in severe terms, 
he immediately adjourned both houses. 

Had not the king been privately sold to France, this was 
the critical moment in which he might have preserved the 
balance of power in Europe, and regained the confidence 
of his subjects. This opportunity, however, was neglected ; 
and the conduct of Charles was afterwards justly regarded 
with jealousy and distrust. But in order to allay, in some 
measure, the violent discontents which prevailed in the na- 
tion, the king encouraged proposals of marriage from the 
prince of Orange to the princess Mary, eldest daughter of 
the duke of York, who had no male issue, and who was 
consequently heir-apparent to the throne, after her father. 

Charles graciously received his nephew, the prince oi 



352 HISTORY OP EN6LANDc 

Orange at Newmarket ; and the latter was introduced to 
the princess, whom he found extremely amiable both in 
her person and manners. In a short time the marriage 
took place, and gave infinite satisfaction to all parties ; but, 
notwithstanding the double tie by which the king was now 
bound to consult the interests of the States General, 
nothing could detach him from the French aUiance ; and 
he is said to have received from Louis the sum of two mil- 
lions of livres as the price of prolonging the adjournment 
of parliament, which, it was feared, would have urged the 
necessity of joining the allies in a vigorous prosecutio*n of 
the war. 

At length, after various negotiations, a treaty of 
lfi78 g^^®^^^ peace was signed at Nimeguen, where a 
congress had long been held by the ministers of the 
different powers. By this treaty, France secured the pos- 
session of Franchecomte, and of several towns in the Ne- 
therlands. 

A strong spirit of indignation existed among the English 
against their sovereign, who had acted a part entirely sub- 
servient to the common enemy, and by whose supineness 
and irresolution Louis had been enabled to make such im- 
portant acquisitions. In Scotland, too, religious differences 
ran high ; conventicles multiplied in the west ; the clergy 
of the established church were insulted ; and the cove- 
nanters even met in arms at their places of worship. To 
repress the rising spirit of presbyterianism, a new parlia- 
ment had been assembled at Edinburgh, some years before ; 
and Lauderdale, who had been appointed commissioner, 
had sufficient influence to get some acts passed which 
were favourable to the prerogative ; but the severity of his 
measures against the covenanters, raised up a party against 
him, of which duke Hamilton was the head. 

In fact, both the language and the conduct of Charles 
daily tended to increase the prejudices and suspicions of his 
subjects. Arbitrary power and popery were apprehended 
as the scope of all his designs ; and while the nation was 
in th"'S jealous disposition, it is no wonder that every report 
against the catholics should be readily believed. 

One Kirby, a chemist, informed the king, that there was 
a desig!#against his life ; and that two men, called Grove 
and Pickering, had engaged to shoot him, and sir George 
Wakeman, the queen's physician, to poison him. This 



CHARLES II. 353 

intelligence, he said, had been communicated to him by 
doctor Tongue, a restless divine, who, being examined, de- 
clared to Danby, the treasurer, that the papers which con- 
tained information of the conspiracy had been thrust un- 
der his door. 

The king concluded that the whole was an imposture ; 
and the matter would probably have been consigned to 
oblivion, had not the duke of York, on hearing that priests 
and Jesuits, and even his own confessor, had been impli- 
cated in the business, insisted that regular inquiry should 
be made by the council into the pretended conspiracy. 
Kirby and Tongue were sought after, and were found hving 
in close intimacy with Titus Oates, who was said to have 
conveyed the first intelligence to Tongue. This man, in 
whose breast was lodged a secret involving the fate of kings, 
was allowed to remain in such necessity, that Kirby sup- 
plied him with daily bread ; and, as he expected more en- 
couragement from the public, than from the king or his 
ministers, he judged it proper, before he was presented to 
the council, to give his evidence before sir Edmundsbury 
Godfrey, an active magistrate. 

The intelligence of Oates tended to this purpose, that 
the pope, having assumed the sovereignty of England and 
Ireland, on account of the heresy of the prince and people, 
had delegated his authority to the Jesuits, who had supplied, 
by commissions, all the chief offices, both civil and military. 
It would be useless to enter into all the details of this 
pretended plot. Suffice it to observe, that Oates was one of 
the most infamous of mankind ; and that, before the coun- 
cil, he betrayed his impostures in such a manner, as would 
have discredited the most consistent story, and the most 
reputable evidence. The plot, however, soon became the 
source of terror to the people ; and Danby, out of oppo- 
sition to the French interest, encouraged the story ; and 
by his suggestions, one Coleman, who had been secretary 
to the late dutchess of York, and had been implicated in 
this affair, was ordered to be arrested. 

Among the papers of Coleman were found several pas- 
sages, which contained very free remarks relative to the 
sentiments and principles of the king, and which contri- 
buted to diffuse through the nation a panic on account of 
the popish plot ; and the people, regarding the remarks of 
Coleman as, a confirmation of the truth of Oates' sfory, con- 



354 IIISTOHY OF ENGLAND. 

founded a business which had no relation to it, with tht 
originally hatched conspiracy. 

The murder of sir Edmundsbury Godfrey, which was 
never accounted for, completed the general delusion, and 
rendered the prejudices of the nation absolutely incurable. 
While the nation was in this ferment, the parhamint as- 
sembled ; and the cry of the plot was immediately echoed 
from onehoueto the other. A solemn fast was voted ; 
and addresses passed for the removal of popish recusants 
from London. The lords Powis, Staflbrd, Arundel, Peters, 
and Bellasis, were impeached for high-treason ; and both 
houses, after hearing the evidence of Gates, voted, " That 
the lords and commons are of opinion, that there hath 
been, and still is, a damnable and heUish plot, contrived 
and carried on by the popish recusants, for assassinating 
the king, for subverting the government, and for rooting 
out and destroying the protestant religion." Gates was 
applauded and caressed, and encouraged by a pension of 
1200 pounds a year. 

Such bounty brought forth new witnesses. William 
Bedloe, a man, if possible, more infamous than Gates, ap- 
peared next on the stage. At first, he gave intelligence 
only of Godfrey's murder, which, he said, had been perpe- 
trated in Somerset-house, where the queen lived, by pa- 
pists, some of whom were servants in her family. Next 
day, when examined before the lords, he gave an ample 
account of the plot ; and he made his narrative agree as 
well as he could with that of Gates, which had been pub- 
lished ; but, in order to heighten the effect, and render 
himself more acceptable, he added other circumstances 
still more dreadful and extraordinary. 

Though the king ridiculed the plot, and all who believed 
it, yet he found it necessary to adopt the popular opinion 
before the parliament. A bill had been introduced for a 
new test, in which popery was denominated idolatry ; and 
all members who refused this test were to be excluded 
from both houses. The Duke of York, in the most pathe- 
tic manner, moved, that an exception might be admitted 
in his favour ; and he protested, that whatever his religion 
might be, it should only be a private thing between God 
and his own soul, and never should appear in his public 
conduct. Notwithstanding this appeal, he prevailed only 
by two voites; 



cniRLES II. '355 

The public ferment was increased by the treachery of 
Montague, who had been ambassador at Paris, and who 
had procured a seat in the house of commons. He laid 
before the house a letter from the treasurer Danby, coun- 
tersigned by the king, in which appeared the most palpable 
proofs of Charles's intrigues with the French court. 
Danby was immediately impeached by the commons, but 
the peers refused to commit [lim ; and a great contest be- 
ing likely to arise between the two houses, the king thought 
it advisable, first to prorogue, and afterwards to dissolve 
the parliament, 

The want of money, however, compelled Charles 
to summon a new parliament ; but being soon |A«q 
alarmed at their refractory disposition, in order to 
appease his people and the parliament, he desired the duke 
of York to withdraw beyond sea, that no farther suspicion 
of popish councils might remain. The duke readily com- 
plied ; but first required an order for that purpose from the 
king, lest his absenting himself should be considered as a 
proof of fear or guilt ; and he also desired that his brother 
would satisfy him, as well as the public, by declaring the 
illegitimacy of the duke of Monmouth. 

'rhis nobleman was a natural son of the king's by Lucy 
Walters, and born about ten years before the restoration. 
He possessed all the qualities which could engage the af- 
fections of the people ; and, in proportion as the duke of 
York was the object of hatred, on account of his religion, 
Monmouth rose higher in the public favour. Some even 
flattered him with the hopes of succeeding to the crown ; 
and the story of a contract of marriage between the king and 
his mother was industriously spread aliroad, and eagerly 
received by the people. Charles, however, to put an end 
to all intrigues of this kind, as well as to remove the d'lke 
of York's apprehensiotis, in full council made a declara- 
tion of Monmouth's illegitimacy, on which York willingly 
complied with the king's desire, and retired to BruFsels. 

Charles, however, could not obtain the confi-l'^iice of the 
parliament. The impeachment of Dnnby was revived, and 
the king, in order to screen his minister, granted him a 
full pardon ; but it was protended that no pnrdon of the 
crown could be pleaded in bar of an impeach. nent by the 
commons ; and so resolute was parliahient in support of 
its pretensions, that Danby was committed a close prisoner 
to the Tower. 31 



356 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

It being expected that a bill for excluding the duke of 
York from the throne would be brought into parliament, 
Charles projected certain limitations, by which the suc- 
cessor, if a papist, would be deprived of the chief branches 
of royalty. These concessions, however, were rejected ; 
and a bill was brought in for the absolute exclusion of the 
duke from the crown of England and Ireland. It was 
therein declared, that the sovereignty of these kingdoms, 
Upon the king's death or resignation, should devolve to 
the person next in succession after the duke, and that all 
who supported his title should be punished as rebels and 
traitors. This important bill passed the lower house by a 
majority of 79. 

Soon after, the standing army, and the king's guards, 
were voted by the commons to be illegal ; and that bul- 
wark of personal and national liberty, the habeas corpus 
act, which provided against arbitrary imprisonment, was 
passed the same session. 

In the meantime, the impeachment of the five popish 
lords, with that of the earl of Danby, was carried on with 
great vigour ; but a dispute arising between the two houses, 
about allowing the bishops to vote on the trial of Danby, 
afforded the kmg a favourable pretext for dissolving the 
parliament. 

This vigorous measure disappointed the malcontents ; 
feut even the recess of parliament afforded no interruption 
to the prosecution of the catholics accused of the plot. 
Whitbread, provincial of the Jesuits, Fenwic, Gavan, 
Turner, and Harcourt, all of the same order, were con- 
demned and executed on the most incoherent and doubtful 
evidence. Langhorne, an eminent lawyer, by whom all 
the concerns of the Jesuits were managed, was also con- 
victed ; and the first check which the informers received, 
was on the trial of sir George Wakeman, the queen's phy- 
sician. The acquittal of Wakeman was a great mortifi- 
cation to ilie prosecutors of the plot, and fixed an indeli- 
We stain on Oates, Bedloe, and their abettors. 

The discontents in England excited the attention of the 
Scottish covenanters, who, regarding Sharp, the primate, 
as an apostate from their principles, and an unrelenting 
persecutor, dragged him from his coach, and put him to 
ideath. This atrocious action gave rise to a violent perse- 
jcution against the covenanters, who, finding themselves 



CHARLES H. 357 

deeply involved in guilt, made themselves masters of the 
city of Glasgow, dispossessed the established clergy, and 
issued proclamations, declaring that they fought against 
the king's supremacy, against popery and prelacy, and 
against a popish successor. 

The king, apprehensive of the consequences of this in- 
surrection, despatched Monmouth into Scotland with a 
small body of English cavalry. That nobleman being 
joined by the Scottish guards, and some regiments of mi- 
litia, marched with great celerity against the enemy, who 
had taken post near Bothwell castle. Their army never 
exceeded eight thousand men ; and, being without officers 
and experience, they were speedily routed, with the loss 
of seven hundred killed, and one thousand two hundred ta- 
ken prisoners. Monmouth treated these with great hu- 
manity, and an act of indemnity was soon after passed. 

Charles falling ill at Windsor, such an affectionate re- 
gard was shown him, and such consternation seized all 
ranks of men, that, to use an expression of sir William 
Temple's, the king's death was regarded as the end of the 
world. The duke of York had been privately sent for ; 
but, when he arrived, the king was out of danger. The 
journey, however, was attended with important conse- 
quences. He prevailed on the king to disgrace Monmouth, 
whose projects were now known and avowed ; and he ob- 
tained leave himself to retire into Scotland, on pretence of 
quieting the apprehensions of the English, but, in reality, 
with a view of securing his interests in that kingdom. 

From the favour and encouragement which the parlia- 
ment had given to informers, the nation had got into a 
vein of credulity. One Dangerfield, a man of the most 
infamous character, was the author or denouncer of a new 
plot, called the mea/-tub plot, from the place where some 
papers relative to it were found. The bottom of this affair 
it is difficult, and not material, to discover. It only ap- 
pears, that Dangerfield, under pretence of betraying the 
conspiracies of the presbyterians, had been countenanced 
by some catholics of condition, and had even gained ad- 
mission to the duke of York. Which side he originally 
intended to cheat is uncertain ; but finding the nation more 
inclined to beheve in a popish than a presbyterian plot, he 
fell in with the prevailing humour. 

The duke of Monmouth returned without leave, and 



^5B HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

making a triumphant procession through many parts of 
the kingdom, increased the present ferment. Great en- 
deavours were used to obtain the king's consent for the 
meeting of parliament. The crown was attacked by tu- 
multuous petitions. Wherever the court party prevailed, 
addresses were framed, expressing the deepest abhorrence 
^ of popular encroachments. ^ Hence the nation was 
1680 *^is^i*^§'"ish^d into petitioners and abhorrers. Be- 
sides these appellations, which were soon forgotten, 
this is the epoch of the epithets Whig and Tory,* which 
have been bandied about for nearly a century and a half, 
with little appropriate meaning, and frequently to the in- 
jury both of individuals and the public. 

After a long interval, the king resolved to assemble the 
parliament ; but all the moUifying expressions which he 
used in addressing that assembly, had no effect on the com- 
mons, who proceeded in their former career, and seemed 
bent on renewing the bill for excluding the duke of York 
from the succession ; and the friends of Monmouth hoped 
that the exclusion of that prince would advance their pa- 
tron to the throne. In the commons, the bill passed by a 
great majority ; but in the house of peers, where the king 
expected to oppose it wath success, the court-party pre- 
vailed, and it was rejected after a long and violent de- 
bate. 

The commons discovered much ill-humour on this dis- 
appointment, and resumed the impeachment of the catho- 
lic lords ; and as viscount Stafford, from his age and in- 
firmities, was least able to defend himself, he became the 
first victim. He protested, that the only treason of which 
he had ever been guilty, had been entering into schemes 
for procuring a toleration to the catholics, at least a miti- 
gation of the penal laws enacted against them. The popu- 
lace, who had exulted at his trial and condemnation, were 
melted into tears at the tender fortitude which he display- 
ed on the scaffold. 

This v/as the last blood that was shed on account of 
the popish plot. The commons, however, still found new 

* The CQurt-party reproached their antagonists with resembh'ng 
the fanatical conventiciersin Scotiacdwhohad obtained thename 
ofwhigs; and the country party found a resemblance betweea 
the courtiers and the popish banditti in Ireland, to whom the ap- 
pellation oftory was affixed. Hence the origin of these two 
terms of reproach. 



CHARLES II. 35S 

occasions to exercise their talents against the court ; and 
besides insisting on the exclusion, they proceeded to bring 
in other bills oi* an alarming nature. The king, seeing no 
hopes of restoring the commons to a better temper, came 
to the resolution of proroguing them ; bul the house ha- 
ving got intelhgence of his design a short time before it 
was put in execution, in the most tumultuous manner 
passed some extraordinary resolutions, which were indi- 
rectly subversive of the throne. 

Soon after this session was closed, Charles summoned 
a new parliament, and, in order to prevent those tumults, 
which attended their assembling at Westminster, from the 
vicinity of a populous city, he directed them to meet him 
at Oxford. Against this, Monmouth and fifteen peers 
protested, on the ground that the two houses would be 
there exposed to the swords of the papists and their ad- 
herents. These insinuations inflamed the people still 
more ; the leaders came to parliament, attended not only 
by their servants, but by numerous retainers ; and the as- 
sembly at Oxford resembled more a Pohsh diet than an. 
English parliament. 

The commons consisted nearly of the same members^ 
and fell instantly into the same measures, the impeach- 
ment of Danby, the inquiry into the popish plot, and the 
bill of exclusion. So violent were they on this last arti- 
cle, that no expedient, however plausible, could be hear- 
kened to. One of the king's ministers proposed, that the 
duke should be banished five hundred miles from Eng- 
land, and on the king's demise, the next heir should be 
constituted regent with regal power ; yet even this expe- 
dient, which would have left the duke of York only the 
bare title of king, failed to satisfy the house. Charles, 
seeing no probability of a better temper in the commons, 
without sacrificing his brother, dissolved the parliament ; 
and resolved to depend on economy and retrenchment for 
alleviating the necessities under which he laboured. 

As the king no longer dreaded the clamours of the 

or? 

country party, he permitted the duke of York to pay him 

a visit. The duke chose to take his passage by 

ip,oo sea ; and the ship in which he embarked struck on 

a sand-bank, and was lost ; but he escaped, with 

a few of his party, in the barge. It is said, that while 

31* 



360 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

many persons of rank and quality were drowning, and, 
among the rest, Hyde, his broiber-in-law, the duke was 
very ci amorous to save the dogs and the priests. 

Through the infaience of the crown, two sheriffs, North 
and Rich, were chosen m the city, on account of their 
devotion to the court : but as the contest might be renew- 
ed every year, a project was formed to make the king 
master at once, not only of the city, but of aii the corpo- 
rations in England. A writ of quo warro.nio^^' was i.-sued 
again.-t the city, which it was pretended, had forfeited all 
its privileges, on account of some irregularities in its pro- 
ceedings sever a! years before ; and though the cause of 
the city was ably defended against the aitorney and soli- 
citor generals, the judges decided against it. After sen- 
tence had been pronounced, the citizens petitioned the 
king, who agreed to restore them their charter, but obli- 
ged them to submit to the following regulations : That no 
mayor, sheriff, recorder, common-sergeant, town-clerk, or 
coroner, should be admitted to the exercise of his office 
without his majesty's approbation : that if the king disap- 
proved twice of the mayor or sheriffs elected, he may, by 
commission, appoint those magistrates : that the mayor 
and court of aldermen may, with his majesty's leave, dis- 
place any magistrate : and that no alderman, in case of a va- 
cancy, shall be elected without the consent of the court 
of aldermen, v/ho, if they disapproved twice of the choice, 
may fill the vacancy. 

All the corpo'^ations in England, from this precedent, 
saw howinefiectTjal it would be to contend with the court, 
and, therefore, most of them were induced to surrender 

their charters into the king's hands. Considera- 
■ipco ble sums were exacted for restoring the charters; 

and all offices of power or profit, by the restrictions 
introduced, were now left at the disposal of the crown. 
The conduct of Charles in these proceedings was a most 
violent infraction of personal and national liberty, and 
sufficienvly proves the arbitrary and tyrannical principles 
by which he governed. Every friend to hberty must allow, 
that the nation, whose constitution had been thus violated, 

* That is, an inquiry into the validity of its charter* 



CHARLES II. 36 i 

was justified in employing expedients for recovering the 
se'. urity of which d had been so unjustly deprived. 

Thf^re was a party, who, even hi fore this last iniquitous 
proceeding, which laid the whole constitution at the mercy 
of the king, medilated plans of resistance to the measures 
of the court. The duke of Monmouth, lord Russel, and 
lord Gray, solicited, not only the capital, ijut the nobility ^ 
and gentry of several counties, to rise in arms, and oppose 
the 8<uccession of the duke. The whole train was ready 
to take fire ; but was prevented by the caution of lord 
Russel, who, in opposition to fchaftesbury, the prime 
mover, induced Monmouth to delay the enterprise. 
Shaftesbury, enraged at this delay, abandoned all hopes 
of success, and withdrew to Holland, where he died soon 
after, little regretted by his friends, or noticed by his en- 
emies. 

At last, a regular project of insurrection was formed. 
The council consisted of Monmouth, Russel, Essex, How- 
ard, Algernon Sidney, and John Hampden, grandson to 
the great parliamentary leader. These men entered into 
an agreement with Argyle and the Scottish malcontents, 
who engaged to bring the covenanters into the field. The 
conspiraturs, however, differed widely in tlieir views. Sid- 
ney and Essex were for a republic ; Monmouth entertain- 
ed hopes of obtaining the crown (or himself; and Russel 
and Hampden were attached to the ancient constitution, 
and wished only a redress of grievances, and the exclu- 
sion of the duke of York. Howard, who was a man of no 
principle, was ready to espouse any party, to which his 
interest might lead him. But, discordant as they seemed, 
in their characters and views, they were all united in a 
common hatred of the l.eir-apparent. 

While these schemes were concerting among the lea- 
ders, an inferior order of conspirators held frequent meet- 
ings, and carried on j^'rojects quite unknown to Monmouth, 
and the cabal of six ; and the only ptrsons of this confed- 
eracy, who had access to the leaders of the party, were 
Ferguson, and colonel Rumsey, an old republican officer. 
These persons indulged in the most criminal discourse ; 
and proposed to assassinate Charles at a farm called the 
Rye-house, which lay on the road to Newmarket, whither 
the king commonly went once a-year ; but the house in 



362 HISTORY OF ENGLAND* 

which his majesty lived there happening to take fire, obliged 
liim to leave that place, sooner than he intended, and thus 
the execution of the design was prevented. 

Among the conspirators was one Keiling, who, being 
under a criminal prosecution, in order to obtain a pardon, 
betrayed his associates to secretary Jenkins. Search be- 
ing made after the conspirators, colonel Rumsey, and 
West, a lawyer, finding the perils to which they were ex- 
posed, surrendered themselves, and turned evidence. 
Kumsey made known the meetings of the leaders ; and 
orders were issued for arresting the great men engaged in 
the conspiracy. Monmouth absconded : Russel was sent 
to the Tower ; Gray was arrested, but escaped ; and How- 
ard, a profligate man, being taken, in hopes of pardon and 
reward, revealed the whole plot. Essex, Sidney, and 
Hampden, were immediately apprehended ; and some of 
the inferior conspirators being convicted, paid the forfeit 
of <heir hves. 

The condemnation of these criminals was preparatory 
to the trial of lord Russel, a nobleman illustrious for his 
virtues, and highly popular, against whom Rumsey, Shep- 
hard, and Howard, appeared. It was proved, that an in- 
surrection had been resolved on, and the surprisal of the 
king's guards taken into consideration by the prisoner ; but 
still, with regard to law, there remained an important diffi- 
culty. By an act passed soon after the restoration, to con- 
sult on a rebellion, during Charles's lifetime, was declared 
treason ; but it was required, that the prosecution should 
be commenced vi^^ithin six months after the crime had been 
committed. The facts sworn to by Rumsey and Shep- 
liard were beyond the six months required by law ; and to 
the other circumstances, Howard was the only evidence, 
whereas by the statute of Edward HI., the crime of trea- 
son must be proved by two witnesses. 

Russel perceived this irregularity, and desired to have 
the point argued by counsel ; but the chief-justice told 
him, that this favour could not be granted, unless he pre- 
viously confessed the facts ; and the artificial confounding 
of the two species of treason was the principal, though 
not the only hardship, of which this, unfortunate nobleman 
had reason to complain on his trial. His veracity would 
not allow him to deny the conspiracy for an insurrection ; 




Arrest of the Qwce/i of Denmark, 




Lord Russell parting with his Family. 



CHARLES II. ^63 

Tjut he solemnly protested, that he had never entertained 
any design against the life of the king. After a short de- 
liberation, the jury brought him in guilty. 

Applications were made to the king for a pardon ; and 
even money, to a very considerable amount, was offered 
to the duchess of Portsmouth by the earl of Bedford, fa- 
ther to Russel ; but Charles was inexorable. 

Lady Russel, daughter and heir of the earl of South- 
ampton, a woman of the most exalted merit, threw herself 
at the king's feet, and pleaded with many tears the services 
of her father as an atonement for the error of her husband. 
Finding her supplications ineffectual, she summoned up all 
the fortitude of her soul, and even endeavoured, by her ex- 
ample, to strengthen the resolution of her unfortunate lord. 
With a tender and decent composure, they took leave of 
each other on the day of his execution. " The bitterness of 
death is now past," said he, as he turned to her. To the 
last, he maintained the same dignified composure, the same 
good-humoured equanimity for which he had been always 
distinguished. He was the most popular among his own 
party, and admired for his virtues even by the opposite 
faction ; and his melancholy fate united every heart, sen- 
sible of humanity, in a tender compassion for him. 

Algernon Sidney, the apostle of Uberty, was next 
brought to trial. This gallant person, son to the earl of 
Leicester, had been deeply implicated in the civil wars ; 
but he opposed the usurpation of Cromwell with zoftl and 
courage ; and, after the restoration, he chose voluntary 
banishment, rather than submit to a government and fa- 
mily which he abhorred. At length, he returned to Eng- 
land, and applied for the king's pardon, which he ob- 
tained. 

Howard was again the only witness against Sidney ; 
but, as the law required two, a strange expedient was 
adopted to supply the deficiency. In searching the pri- 
soner's closets, some discourses on government were 
found, in which he maintained principles, favourable in- 
deed to liberty, but such as the most dutiful subjects have 
been known to embrace, and which, evenif they had been 
published, could not have infringed any positive law. 
These papers, however, were said to be equivalent to a 
second witness ; and the violent and inhuman judge 



364 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

Jefferies easily prevailed on a prejudiced jury to give a 
verdict against S^lciney. He complained, with great rea- 
son, of the iniqmty of the sentence ; and he died glorying 
in the " good old cause," in which from his youth, he said, 
he had enlisted himself. 

Howard was also the sole witness against Hampden, 
who, therefore, was indicted only for a misdemeanor ; 
and sentence being obtained against him, the exorbitant 
j&ne of forty thousand pounds was imposed on him. 

On the day that Russel was tried, Essex, a man emi- 
nent for his virtues and abilities, w^as found in the Tower 
with his throat cut. Whether he committed suicide, or 
was murdered by others, has never been clearly ascer- 
tained. 

On the detection of this conspiracy, loyal addresses 
arrived from all parts of the kingdom ; and, in order to 
increase his present popularity, Charles judged it 
16S4 P'"^?^^ to give his niece, the lady Anne, in marriage 
to prince George, brother to the king of Denmark ; 
but, though the king had recovered his former popularity 
in the nation, and was enabled to govern without a par- 
liament, it is certain he was neither happy nor satisfied. 
The violent temper of his brother gave him apprehension 
and uneasiness ; and, in opposing some of the duke's hasty 
counsels, he was heard one day to say, " Brother, 1 am 
too old to go again on my travels ; you may, if you choose 
it." It was evident, that the king meditated some change 
of measures ; and it was believed, that he intended to send 
the duke of York to Scotland, to recal Monmouth, to as- 
semble his parliament, and to dismiss his obnoxious mi- 
nisters ; but amidst these wise and virtuous designs, he 
was seized with an apoplectic fit, and, after languishing a 
few days, expired in the fifty- fifth year of his age, and the 
twenty-fifih of his reign. Having always enjoyed a good 
constitution, his death begat suspicion of poison ; but when 
all circumstances are considered, this suspicion appears 
without foundation. His loss, however, was sincerely 
lamented by his people, as well on account of their affec- 
tion for him, as of their dread of his successor. 

During the few days of the king's illness, he showed a 
total indifference to the devotions and exhortations of the 
clergy of the established church, but received the sacra- 



JAMES II. 365 

ment from the hands of catholic priests ; and in his cabi- 
net were fonnd two papers, which contained arguments in 
favour of the Romish communion, and which the duke of 
York had the imprudence immediately to publish. 

Charles, when considered as a companion, appears the 
most amiable and engaging of men ; be had a ready wit, 
was well-bred, and good-natured. When, however, we 
view his public character, he evidently sinks in our esti- 
mation. As a sovereign, his conduct was dangerous to 
his people, and disgraceful to himself. Negligent of the 
interests of the nation, careless of its glory, averse to its 
religion ; jealous of its liberty, lavish of its treasures, and 
sparing only of its blood, he exposed it by his measures 
to the danger of a civil war, and even to the ruin and ig- 
nominy of a foreign conquest. 



CHAP. XVIT. 

The reign of James IL 

The first act of James's reign was to assemble the 
privy-council, and declare his resolution to maintain the 
established government in church and state ; but 
in the first exercise of his authority, he showed ,"^^0^* 
the insincerity of his professions. All the customs, 
and the greater part of the excise, had been settled by 
parliament on the late king during life, and consequently 
the grant had expired ; but James, without regarding the 
laws, issued a proclamation, ordering payment of the cus- 
toms and excise as before ; and he went also openly, and 
with all the ensigns of dignity, to mass. By this impru- 
dence he displayed at once his arbitrary disposition, and 
the bigotry of his principles. 

However little incHned James might be to an English 
parliament, he found it absolutely necessary to summon 
one ; but his speech to that assembly was calculated ra- 
ther to awaken their fears than to work on their atfections. 
He required them to settle his revenue, and that during 
his life, as had been done to his brother. "There is, in- 
deed," added he, " one popular argument against complv- 



366 HISTORY OF ENGLANJ». 

ing with my demand. Men may think, that by feeding 
me, from time to time, with such supplies as they think 
convenient, they will better secure frequent meetings of 
parliament ; but as this is the first time I speak to you 
from the throne, I must plainly tell you, that such an ex- 
pedient would be very improper to employ with me, and 
that the best way to engage me to meet you often, is al- 
ways to use me well." 

The parliament was thus placed in a very critical situa- 
tion, either of opposing James at once, or of complying 
with his wishes ; and the commons voted the same reve- 
nue to his present majesty during life, as had been enjoy- 
ed by the late king. The lords were no less comphant ; 
and they endeavoured to break in pieces the remains of 
the popish plot. Oates, who had been tried and convicted 
of perjury, was sentenced to perpetual imprisonment, be- 
sides being publicly whipped, and five times a year exr 
posed in the pillory. The impudence of this man still 
supported him, and he made solemn appeals to heaven for 
the truth of his testimony.* 

The conviction of Oates was noticed by the house of 
peers ; and the popish lords Powis, Arundel, Bellasis, and 
Tyrone, together with the earl of Danby, were freed from 
their impeachment ; but the course of parliamentary pro- 
ceedings was interrupted by the news of Monmouth's 
arrival in the west, with three ships from Holland. Par- 
liament immediately passed a bill of attainder against 
Monmouth, ard voted, that they would adhere to James 
with their lives and fortunes ; and they granted the king a 
supply of four hundred thousand pounds for suppressing 
the rebellion. 

The unfortunate Monmouth, pursued by the severity of 
James, even in his retirement on the continent, and urged 
by the impatient humour of Argyle, who set out for Scot- 
land in his cause, was driven, contrary to his judgment 
as well as inclination, to make a rash and premature at- 
tempt. Landing at Lyme, in Dorset, with scarcely a hun- 
dred followers, the popularity of his name soon drew to his 
standard above two thousand horse and foot. At Taunton 

* On the accession of king William, Oates recovered his liber- 
ty and had a pension of four hundred pounds a year settled on him. 



JAxMESII. 367 

he assumed the regal title ; and he was proclaimed king 
at Bridgevvater, Wells, and Frome ; but he allowed the 
expectations of the people to languish, without attempting 
any considerable undertaking. 

Hearing that Argyle had been defeated, Monmouth fell 
into despondency ; but his followers showed more courage, 
and seemed determined to adhere to him in tvery fortune. 
The neghgence of Feversham, the royal general, invited 
Monmouth to attack the king's army at Sedgemoor, where, 
after a combat of three hours, the rebels gave way. About 
one thousand five hundred fell in the battle and pursuit ; 
and the unhappy Monmouth fled from the field, above 
twenty miles, till his horse sunk under him. He then chan- 
ged clothes with a peasant, in order to conceal himself; 
but at last, he was found lying in the bottom of a ditch, and 
covered with fern. His body depressed with fatigue and 
hunger, and his mind, by the memory of past misfortunes, 
and the prospect of future ills, he burst into tears when 
seized by his enemies, and seemed still to indulge the fond, 
hope and the desire of life. He wrote to James in the 
most submissive terms, conjuring him to spare the issue of 
a brother ; and the king, finding such symptoms of contri- 
tion and despondency in the unhappy prisoner, admitted 
him into his presence, in hopes of extorting a discovery of 
his accomplices ; but Monmouth would not purchase life, 
however loved, at the price of so much infamy. Finding 
all efforts vain, he prepared himself for death, with a spiril; 
worthy of his rank and character, and was attended to the 
scaflTold by the tears of the people, with whom he had 
ever been a favourite. 

This victory, if it had been managed with prudence, 
would have tended to confirm the power and authority of 
the king ; but the cruelty with which it was prosecuted by 
the savage colonel Kirk, and the infamous judge Jefferies. 
hastened the ruin of James. Besides those who were 
butchered by the miUtary commanders, two hundred and 
fifty-one victims are said to have been executed ; and all 
the rigours of justice, unabated by any appearance of cle- 
rnency, were fully displayed by the barbarous Jefferies. 

In Scotland, the fate of Argyle had been decided be^ 
fore that of Monmouth. The parliament of that country 
Jicknowledged tlie king's authority to be absolute ; and 

32 



3$8 HISTORY OF ENGLANP. 

with such a servile train, the patriotic virtues of Argyle 
could stand no chance of obtaining a pardon. He was 
seized, and carried to Edinburgh, where, after enduring 
many indignities, he was publicly executed. 

Elated with this tide of short-lived prosperity, James 
began to undervalue the authority of an English parlia- 
ment ; and in a speech to that assembly, he observed, that 
he had employed many catholic officers^ in whose favour he 
had dispensed with the law, which requires the test to be 
taken by every one possessed of any public office ; and he 
also declared, that, having received the benefit of their 
service, he was resolved neither to expose them afterwards 
to disgrace, nor himself to the want of their assistance. 
The commons voted an address to the king against the 
dispensing power ; but this address was ill received by 
James, who returned a haughty reply. At theirnext 
meeting, the commons proceeded to the consideration of a 
supply, and went so far in their submissions as to establish 
funds for paying the sums voted. The king, therefore., 
had, in effect, obtained almost a complete victory over the 
lower house, which ceased to be the guardian of the liber- 
ties and property of the people. 

In the upper house, however, Compton, bishop of Lon- 
don, in his ov/n name and that of his brethren, moved 
that a day should be appointed for taking the king's speech 
into consideration ; and, notwithstanding the opposition of 
JefFeries, the chancellor, the bishop's motion prevailed. 
James was so much irritated, that he proceeded imme- 
diately to prorogue, and finding that he could not break 
the firmness of the leading members, he finally dissolved 
the parhament. 

The open declaration of James, to dispense with the 
tests, had diffused an universal alarm throughout the na- 
tion, had alienated the church, and even disgusted the 
army. The former horror against popery was revived ; 
and this was further increased by Louis- XIV. , having, 
about the same time, revoked the edict of Nantes, in con- 
sequence of which, nearly fifty thousand refugees passed 
over into England ; and, from their representations, all 
men dreaded the projects which were supposed to be form- 
ed by the king for abolishing the protestant religion. 

Though James had failed in prevailing on the parlia- 



JAMES II. 369 

ment, he was successful in establishing his dispensing 
power, by a verdict of the judges. Four catholic lords 
were also brought into the privy-council ; the king 
was openly zealous in making converts ; and men jAgg 
plainly saw, that the only means of acquiring his 
majesty's confidence, was the sacrifice of their religion. 
Those who had any regard to decency, any attachment to 
the liberties of their country, or to the protestant faith, 
now withdrew from the ministry, or were dismissed, and 
their places were filled with renegadoes, who squared 
their belief by their interest. 

All judicious persons of the catholic communion easily 
foresaw the consequences of these violent measures ; but 
James was entirely governed by the rash counsels of the 
queen, and of his confessor, father Peters, a Jesuit and 
privy-counsellor. The king issued a proclamation, sus- 
pending all the penal laws in ecclesiastical affairs^ and 
granting a general liberty of conscience to all his subjects. 
In order to facilitate the reception of this edict of tolera- 
tion, James began to pay court to the dissenters ; 
but his intentions were so obvious, that he found it ^^07 
impossible to obtain the confidence of the noncon- 
formists ; and if the dissenters had been blinded by his? 
professions, the measures pursued in Scotland, and also 
in Ireland, were sufficient to discover the secret. 

James, however, did not long affect to conceal his de- 
signs. He publicly sent the earl of Castlemaine ambas- 
sador-extraordinary to Borne, m order to express his obei- 
sance to the pope, and to bring about a reconciliation with 
the holy see ; but the pontiff, rightly concluding that a 
scheme conducted with such indiscretion could never suc- 
ceed, treated the ambassador with neglect, and thought 
it sufficient to send a nuncio to England, who was solemnly 
received at Windsor, in opposition to an express act of 
parliament, b^ which it was made treason to hold any cor- 
respondence with the pope. 

By virtue of his prerogative, James had suspended the 
penal laws, and dispensed with the test ; and he would 
gladly have obtained the sanction of parliament to these 
acts of power ; but, finding that impossible, he forbore to 
convene that assembly, and proceeded to strengthen the 
catholic party by every expedient. The church and the uni-^ 



370 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

vcrsitics had hitherto been shut against the catholics ; and 
tliough the univer.sity of Oxford liad lately made a solemn 
profession of passive obedience, yet when the king sent a 
mandate for appointing one Farmer, a convert to popery, 
president of Magdalen college, one of the richest founda- 
tions in Jiiurope, tlie fellows chose Dr. Hough, a man 
whose virtue and firnniess rendered him not only proper 
for i,h(^ oHlci^ ]m\. for tlie times. On inquiry, Farmer was 
found guilty of \\\v. most scandalous vices ; and a new 
numdate was issued in favour of Park<;r, lately created 
bishop of Oxford, a m.'m also of a prostitute character, 
who ;ilon(ul for his vices by his willingn(?ss to embrace the 
i-atliolic religicm ; but the society representing that by the 
statutes, I'arker couUl not be chosen, the president and 
all the felh)ws, except two who complied, were expelled 
the college ; and Parker was appointed president. 

The nextmeasme of the court renchred the breach be- 
tween the king and the ecclesiastics incurable. James 
had published a second declaration of indulgence, 
iV'ftP* '^'^''^'^'^' ''*' <>»'d(5red to be read in all the churches, 
iniinechntely after divine service. The clergy in 
general determined to oppose this violence done to tlieir 
consciences ; and Lloyd, bishop of St. Asaph ; Ken, of 
Bath and Wells ; Turni^r, of VAy ; Lake, of Chichester ; 
White, of retcnborough ; aud Trelawney, of Bristol, met 
privatf^ly with the primate, and drew uj) a petition to the 
icing, that he would not insist on their reading the declara- 
tion. For this the prelates were committed to the Tow- 
er ; and the crown lawyers were dircctcMl to prosecute 
them for tlie seditious libel, which, it was jiretended, they 
had comi)osed and uttered. 

The bishops, however, notwith.siiuuliiig the machina- 
tions of the court, were accpiitted ; and the joy which the 
intelligence of this event dillused throuohout the kingdom 
is indescribable. The army encamjted on llounslow-heath 
soon caught the contagion ; and Jjunes, who had that day 
reviewed the troops, and was in the general's tent, was 
surprised to hear a general uproar in the camp : inquiring 
Jhe cause, he was told by Lord Fevin'sham, " it was no- 
ihmg but the rejoicing of the soldiers for the acquittal oi' 
'Ihe bishops." " Do you call that nothing ?" replied he, 
^ but so much the worse for them." Nothing, how^cvcr, 



jAM{:s 11. 371 

could check the mad career of James. lie struck out 
two of the judges who had appeared to favour the bishops ; 
and he issued orders to prosecute all those clergymen who 
had not read his declaration ; and to the honour of the 
established church be it recorded, that only two hundred 
• omplicd with his edict. 

A few days before the acquittal of the bishops, the 
queen was delivered of a son, to the great joy of the king 
and all zealous catholics ; but so violent was the animosi- 
ty against the court, that calumny ascribed to James the 
design of imposing on tliu world a supposititious child, lie 
was baptized by the name of James, and was afterwards 
known by the title of " the pretender." 

The prince of Orange, who had married the princess 
Mary of England, eldest daughter of the king, had main- 
tained a very prudent conduct ; and James strongly soli- 
cited the consent of the prince to the repeal of tiie penal 
statutes and of the test ; but the latter declared his re- 
fusal to concur in these measures, unless the same should 
be sanctioned by parliament. This declaration gave cou- 
rage to the protestants, while it excited the indignation of 
James, who prepared to make war on the United States. 
Many j>ersons of consequence and talents, flying from Eng- 
land, offered their services to William, and requested his 
active interference. 

'I'hc prince, after duly weighing the matter, and finding 
tlie whigs, the tories, the churchmen, and the non-conform- 
ists, forgetting their animosities, all leagued in the design 
of resisting their deluded sovereign, yielded to the very re- 
.-[)ectable and numerous applications that had been made 
lo him ; and having secretly augmented the Dutch navy, 
levied troops, and raised considQj-able sums of money, he 
waited for a favourable opportunity of embarking for Eng- 
land, which regarded him as its sole protector. 

Louis, who had penetrated the designs of iho prince, 
conveyed the intelligence to James ; but the king treated 
the information-with contempt, and refused the assistance 
which the French monarch offered on this occasion. At 
last, however, when convinced that he might soon expect 
a powerful invasion from Holland, James opened his eyes, 
and found himself on the brink of a frightful precipice, 
lie now began to retract those fatal measures which had 

32* 



372 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

created him so many foreign and domestic enemies ; bul 
when intelligence, arrived, that a great disaster had be- 
fallen the Dutch fleet, he recalled, for some time, the con- 
Gessions which he had made. 

Meanwhile, a declaration from the prince of Orange 
was dispersed over the kingdom, and met with universal 
approbation. All the grievances of the nation were there 
enumerated ; and to redress these, the prince said, that 
he intended to come over into England with an armed 
Ibrce. 

After a prosperous voyage, he landed his army safely 
m Torbay, on the fifth day of November, and, marching 
to Exeter, caused his declaration to be there pub- 
,* ■ lished. By degrees, all England was in commo- 
tion ; and every day showed some effect of that 
universal combination into which the nation had entered 
against the measures of the king ; but the most dangerous 
symptom was the disaffection of the army, all the ofRcero 
of which seemed disposed to regard only the interests of 
their country and their religion. Lord Cornbiazy carried 
over three regiments to the prince ; and several officers 
informed Feversham, the general, that they could not in 
conscience draw their swords against the Dutch. Even 
lord Churchill, who had been raised from the rank of a 
page, and owed his whole fortune to the bounty of the 
crown, influenced by principle alone, deserted his master, 
and carried with him the duke of Grafton, natural son to 
the late king. 

James, however, received a still more fatal blow in the 
defection of George, prince of Denmark, his son-in-law, 
and his daughter Anne, who both joined the prince. When 
intelligence of this reached the king, the unfortunate sove- 
reign burst into tears. " God help me," cried he, in the 
extremity of his agony, " my own children have forsaken 
me !" His last acts of authority were to issue writs for a 
new parliament, and to send Halifax, Nottingham, and 
Godolphin, as commissioners, to treat with the prince 
of Orange. He even hearkened to imprudent counsel, by 
which he was prompted to desert the throne. Alarmed by 
the general disaffection, and impelled by his own fears and 
those of others, James precipitately embraced the resolu- 
tior.of escaping into France ; and, having previously sent 




Queen Margaret and the Robber. 




Judge Jefferies seized by the People. 



JAMES II: 373 

oft' the queen and the infant prince, he himself disappear- 
ed in the night-time, and hastened to embark and follow 
them. 

By this rash act, the reins of the government were 
thrown up, and the populace became masters ; and rising 
in a tumultuous manner, they destroyed the mass-houses, 
and rifled the places in which the catholics had lodged 
their most valuable effects. Jefferies, the chancellor, who 
had disguised himself, was discovered, and treated with 
the greatest severity, in consequence of which he died 
soon after. Feversham no sooner heard of the king's 
flight, than he disbanded his troops, without either disarm- 
ing or paying them. 

In the mean time, however, James had been seized at 
Feversham, and obhged to return to London, where the 
populace, moved by compassion, or actuated by loyalty, 
received him with shouts and acclamations. During his 
abode at Whitehall, little attention was paid him ; and de- 
siring permission to retire to Rochester, a town near the 
sea-coast, his request was immediately granted. He pri- 
vately embarked on board a frigate which waited for him, 
and arrived safely at Ambletouse, in Picardy, whence he 
hastened to St. Germain's. Louis received him with the 
greatest generosity and respect, a circumstance more ho- 
nourable to him than his most splendid victories. 

Thus ended the reign of James ; a prince who possess- 
ed many of the quahties which form a good citizen, but 
whose bigotry and arbitrary principles rendered him odi- 
ous as a king. In domestic life his conduct was irreproach- 
able ; and even while he was sacrificing every thing to the 
advancement of popery, his frugality of the public money 
was remarkable, and his jealousy of the national honour 
commendable ; but his invasion of the rights and liberties 
of the people tarnished every other virtue, and his disre- 
gard to the rehgion and constitution of his country could 
not be compensated by any other quahties. In principle, 
he was a despot and a bigot ; and his abdication of the 
throne, and consequent exclusion, have proved the happi- 
ness of this kingdom. 

Thus the prince of Orange, with little efi'usion of blood, 
effected the dehverance of England, and dethroned a king 
possessed of a formidable navy and a numerous army. 



374 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

Still a more difficult task remained, to obtain for himself 
that crown which had fallen from the head of his father-in 
law. To claim it by right of conquest would have been 
destructive to the principles of liberty, which he professed 
to establish ; and he wisely resolved to leave the settle- 
ment of this important affair to the guidance and direction 
of the nation. 

In the convention which was assembled, it was evident 
that the whig party chiefly prevailed, and thecom- 
^nnq mens sent up a vote to the peers, "That king 
James 11. havinor endeavoured to subvert the con- 
stitution of the kingdom, by breaking the original contract 
betvi^een the king and the people ; and having, by the ad- 
vice of Jesuits and other wdcked persons, violated the fun- 
damental laws, and withdrawn himself out of the king- 
dom, has abdicated the government, and that the throne 
is thereby vacant." This vote, when carried to the upper 
house, met with great opposition 5 and the last clause, 
which declared the throne vacant, was omitted ; but the 
commons still insisted on their original vote, and some 
peers deserting to the whig interest, the whole v/aspaSsed, 
and received the sanction of both houses. 

During these debates, the prince had maintained a re- 
spectful silence ; but, at length, he expressed his senti- 
ments on the present situation of affairs. He observed, 
that some insisted on appointing a regent, and that others 
were desirous of bestovvnng the crown on the princess 
Mary alone ; that though he pretended not to interfere in 
their deliberation, he thought it incumbent on him to in- 
form them, that he was determined not to be the regent, 
nor would he accept a crown which depended on the life 
or will of another ; and, therefore, if they were inclined to 
cither of these two plans of settlement, it w^ould be wholly 
out of his power to give them any further assistance. 

The princess seconded the views of her husband, and 
the princess Anne agreeing to- be postponed in the suc- 
cession to the crown, facilitated the public settlement. 
The principal parties being thus agreed, the convention 
passed a bill, settling the crown on the prince and princess 
of Orange, the sole administration to remain in the prince ; 
the princess Anne to succeed after the death of the prince 
and princess of Orange j and her issue after those of the 



WILLIAM AND MARY. 37G 

princess, but before those of the prince by any other wife. 
To this settlement the convention annexed a declaration 
of rights, in which the powers of royal prerogative were 
more narrowly circumscribed, and more exactly defined, 
than at any former period. 

Soon after, similar resolutions having been passed by 
the Scottish convention, William and Mary were proclaim- 
ed in both kingdoms. 



CHAP. XVIIT. 

The Reign of William and Alary. 

The revolution, as it is called, formed a new epoch in 
the constitution, which now assumed a different aspect ; 
and, it may be affirmed, without any danger of . ^ 
exaggeration, that, since that period, the British jgoq 
have enjoyed a system of government the most 
perfect and the most free that was ever established in the 
world. 

While, however, William and Mary were thus peacea- 
bly estabhshed on the throne of Great Britain, a very dif- 
ferent scene presented itself in Ireland. The cathohcs in 
that country saw with reluctance the events which had 
taken place, and testified their adherence to James. 

The earl of Tyrconnel, the lord deputy, disguised his 
sentiments, and amused William with false hopes of sub- 
mission, till James should be able to supply him with re-en- 
forcements from France, which he earnestly solicited by 
private messages. 

In the mean time, the whigs, who were the prevailing 
party in the state, determined that the revenue for the 
maintenance of the king's household, and the support of 
his dignity, should be granted from one year to another 
only, in order that William, finding himself constantly de- 
pendent on parliament, might endeavour to merit a re- 
newal of the grant by a just and popular government. 
The king, however, was disgusted with these restraints, 
which he considered as marks of distrust ; and the tories 
seized this occasion to foment his jealousy against their 
adversaries. WiUiam recommended to parliament a bill 
of indemnity, as the most effectual means of putting an 
end to all controversies and distinctions ; but this was de- 



376 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

feated for some time by the address of the whigs, who 
were sensible that the bill would open a way to the prefer- 
ment of the tories. The two parties, however, were now 
so equally balanced in parliament, that the bill for restor- 
ing corporations to their ancient rights passed by one vote 
only, with the rejection of two clauses against those who 
had been concerned in the surrender of charters. 

The king found himself so perplexed between two fac- 
tions, which he equally feared, that he had resolved to 
leave the government in the queen's hands, and retire into 
Holland ; but he was dissuaded from this purpose by the 
marquis of Caermarthen and other noblemen whom he 
consulted, and finding the tories more compliant, he be- 
gan to gratify them at the expense of the whigs. The lat- 
ter were foiled or out-voted in several favourite schemes : 
and the earl of Shrewsbury resented this so highly, that he 
resigned his office of secretary of state. 

William having wholly given himself up to the politics 
of the tories, was soon gratified with the hereditary excise 
during life, and the customs for four years. The bill of 
indemnity, so earnestly recommended by the king, was 
also passed, with the exception of thirty persons. 

At this period, the great scheme which William had 
projected, of a confederacy against France, began to take 
effect. The emperor negotiated an alliance, offensive and 
defensive, with the States-General ; and Spain and Eng- 
land were invited to accede to the treaty. William, who 
was at the head of this confederacy, found no difficulty in 
persuading the English to undertake a war against their 
ancient rivals ; and the commons unanimously resolved, 
that in case his majesty should think fit to engage in hostil- 
ities with France, they would enable him to carry on the 
war with vigour. This was very agreeable to the king ; and 
war was immediately declared against the French mo- 
narch. 

Louis XIV., who had long rendered himself the terror 
and the scourge of Europe, was not dejected by this con- 
federacy against him. He supplied James with a consider- 
able fleet for the invasion of Ireland, and the ex-prince, 
with about twelve hundred British subjects, and several of 
the most distinguished French officers, landed at Kin- 
sale, on the 22d of March, 1689. The earl of Tyrconnel 
had assembled an army of thirty thousand foot, and eight 
thousand horse, for the service of his master : and the 



WILLIAM AND MARY. 377 

whole kingdom, except the city of Londonderry, received 
James with submission. 

Finding his affairs in Ireland in a desperate state, and 
that he had been deceived by those in whom he had con- 
fided, William determined to pass over into that Island in 
person. A general engagement took place on the banks 
of the Boyne, in which the Irish were entirely de- 
feated ; and James retired to Dublin, whence he - Aqr)* 
fled a second time into France ; but the hopes 
and the spirits of his party were not yet vanquished. 

A French fleet being discovered off Plymouth, the earl 
of Torrington, the English admiral, re-enforced with a 
Dutch squadron, put to sea, in order to intercept the 
enemy, if an attempt should be made to sail up the chan- 
nel. After the hostile fleets had continued in sight of each 
other for five days, lord Torrington bore down upon the 
enemy oft* Bleachey Head ; and an engagement ensued, in 
which the English were defeated, with the loss of two of 
their own ships, and of six vessels belonging to the Dutch. 
A camp w as' immediately formed in the neighbourhood of 
Torbay, where the French seemed to threaten a descent ; 
but their fleet, after setting fire to the small village of 
Teignmouth, and burning a few coasting-vessels, returned 
to Brest. 

The news of the victory obtained by the French fleet 
effaced all thoughts of submission on the part of the Irish, 
and an offer of indemnity from William, to those who 
would lay down their arms, produced little effect. This, 
however, only increased the misery of that unhappy 
country, which suffered from both parties ; but, at length, 
the French forces embarked for their own country ; and 
William, haviiig constituted the lord Sydney and Thomas 
Coningsby lord-justices of Ireland, and left the command 
of the army with count de Solmes and baron de Ginkle, 
returned to England with prince George of Denmark. 

Next year the Irish rebels were entirely reduced, and 
a capitulation was executed, extending to all the places 
in that kingdom which had not yet submitted. By 
it the catholics were restored to the same rights 

AD 

and privileges as they had enjoyed under Charles ^^^' 
41. ; and twelve thousand of the determined adhe« 



378 HlSl^ORY OF ENGLANJD. 

rents of James were allowed to transport themselves to 
France. 

The conquest of Ireland being thus effected, the French 
king resolved to invade England during the absence of 
Wilham, who had sailed for Holland, in order to promote 
the measures of the grand confederacy. Louis seemed 
warmly engaged in the interest of James ; and the Jaco- 
bites* in England were assured, that their lawful sove- 
reign would revisit his British dominions at the head of 
thirty thousand men. 

Accordingly, a considerable body of French forces, 
and many fugitive Irish and Scots assembled, between 
Cherbourgh and La Hogue, commanded by James in per- 
son ; while a French fleet, of sixty-three ships of the line, 
under admiral Tourville, was appointed to convoy the 
troops. Admiral Russel, with a fleet of ninety-nine ships 
of the line, English and Dutch, besides frigates and fire- 
ships, set sail for the coast of France. On the 19th of 
May, 1692, the hostile fleets met off La Hogue ; and 
after a bloody contest of nearly twelve hours, victory de- 
clared in favour of the English. The French lost fifteen 
ships of the line ; and this defeat reduced James to the 
greatest despondence, and overwhelmed his friends in 
England with despair. 

The war, however, was continued on the continent for 
some years, with various success ; but at last it was termi- 
nated by the treaty of Rhyswick, with no advan- 
■,nq» tageto England beyond honour and independence, 
* and with the burden of a national debt which has 
since increased to an enormous amount. 

The terrors of a standing army produced a general fer- 
ment in the nation ; and the king was extremely mortified^ 
when the commons voted, that the number of standing 
forces should be reduced to ten thousand. The earl of 
Sunderland, who had advised the unpopular measure of a 
standing army, dreading the vengeance of the commons, 
resigned his office. 

William at this time revolved in his mind the settling of 

* A term given fo the partisans of Jafnes, or the adhereirts o( 
the £x-family. 



WILLIAM AND MARY. 379 

the succession of the throne of Spain, which would shortly 
be vacated by the death of Charles II. ; and he, therefore, 
directed that sixteen thousand men should be retained in 
the service. When the new parliament met, the commons 
were so irritated at the king's presuming to maintain a 
greater number of troops than their predecessors had vo- 
ted, that they passed a resolution that the army in England 
and Wales should be disbanded by a fixed day, with the 
exception of seven thousand men, who were judged suffi- 
cient for guards and garrisons. 

WiUiam was highly indignant at the conduct of his mi- 
nisters and the parliament ; but when the bill was ready 
for the royal assent, he went to the house of peers ; and 
having sent for the commons, he told them, that though 
he considered himself unkindly treated, in being deprived 
of his Dutch guards, yet as nothing could be more fatal to 
the nation, than a distrust between him and the parlia- 
ment, he had come to pass the bill, according to their de- 
sire. 

The opening of a new parliament promised more cor- 
diality, and the commons in an address desired his majesty 
to enter into such negotiations with the States- 
General, and other potentates, as might most effec- ' ^ 
tually conduce to the mutual safety of Great Britain 
and the United Provinces, as well as to the pre^servatioa 
of the peace of Europe. They also settled the succession, 
in case the princess Anne should die without issue, on 
Sophia of Hanover, and her heirs, being protestants. 

The treaty of partition, however, into which William 
had entered with the court of France, for the division of 
the Spanish dominions, on the death of the reigning sove- 
reign, gave great offence. Among the competitors for 
that crown, the dauphin, who had married the king of 
Spain's daughter, was to be allowed to possess the greatest 
part of Italy ; and other allotments were made, which 
tended to lessen the danger of one person succeeding to 
too extensive dominions. In order to frustrate the objects 
of the confederacy, the king of Spain by will nommated 
the duke of Anjou, second son of the dauphin, heir to all 
his dominions ; by which means he detached the French 
monarch from the union he had formed. 

The parliament, in order to evince their resentment at 

33 



380 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

the clandestine treaty of partition, ordered an impeach- 
ment of lord Somers, the earl of Orford, and the earl of 
Halifax, but the commons not appearing to prosecute, the 
three lords were acquitted ; and William, encouraged by a 
petition from the county of Kent, and the general voice of 
the people, entered into a league with the emperor and the 
States-General, the principal objects of which were the re- 
covery of the Spanish Netherlands, as a barrier for Hol- 
land, and of Milan for the emperor. 

King James expired at St. Germain's, and was interred, 
at his own request, in the church of the English Benedic- 
tines in Paris, without any funeral solemnity. Before his 
death he was visited by the French monarch, who declared 
that he would acknowedge his son as king of England. 
Accordingly, when James died, the pretended prince of 
Wales was proclaimed king of England, and treated as 
such at the court of Versailles. 

In his speech to the parliament, Wilham enlarged on 
this indignity offered to the nation by the French king ; 
and explained the dangers to which England was exposed 
by that monarch placing his grandson on the throne of 
Spain. In an address to his majesty, the commons voted 
that no peace should be concluded with France, till repa- 
ration should be made to the king and nation, for owning 
and declaring the pretended prince of Wales, king of Eng- 
land, Scotland, and Ireland. They also voted a large sup- 
ply ; and they agreed that the proportion of the land forces, 
to act in conjunction with the allies, should be forty thou- 
sand men, and that forty thousand seamen should be em- 
ployed for the service of the ensuing year. 

The health of WiUiam had been declining for some time ; 
but he endeavoured to conceal the inroads which he felt 
were making in his constitution, in order that the allies 
might not be discouraged from engaging in a confederacy 
of which he was considered the chief In riding to Hamp- 
ton Court from Kensington, his collar-bone was broken 
by a fall from his horse ; and this hastened his dis- 



A. D. 



solution. He expired on the eighth day of March, 
of a fever and asthma, in the thirteenth year of his 

reign. His amiable consort, Mary, had fallen a victim to 

the small-pox a few years before. 
William III. was in his person small and slender. He 



ANNE. 381 

had an aquiline nose, a large forehead, and a grave aspect. 
His genius was penetrating, and his judgment sound ; but 
in his manners he was distant, and better qualified to gain 
respect than love. He was religious, temperate, just, and 
sincere. England, in some respects, gained very much 
by the revolution, while in others, it was a severe sufferer. 
The system of borrowing money on remote funds, which 
began in this reign, has been attended with the most per- 
nicious consequences ; and a standing army, which was 
first sanctioned by parliament in the time of William, 
now seems interwoven with the constitution ; but when we 
consider the noble stand which William made for the free- 
dom of Europe, against the ambitious projects and dan- 
gerous influence of France, we must acknowledge, that 
he possessed qualities of the first order, which entitle him 
to the applause and respect of mankind. 

In 1694, the bank of England, and the salt and stamp- 
offices, were established. 



CHAP. XIX. 

The Reign of Queen Anne. 

Anne, princess of Denmark, the eldest surviving 
daucrhter of James the Second, ascended the throne on 
the death of William, with the general satisfac- 

1 • A. D. 

tion of all parties. She was now in the thirty- i-^Qo 
eighth year of her age, and by her husband, George, 
prince of Denmark, had a numerous offspring, all of which 
died in infancy, except the duke of Gloucester, who, after 
giving promises of future worth, was seized with a malig- 
nant fever, which put an end to his existence in the ele- 
venth year of his age. 

Anne had received great mortifications in the late 
reign ; but she conducted herself with so much discretion, 
that little or no pretence for censure or resentment could 
be alleged. The facility of her disposition, however, ren- 
dered her the dupe of interested and artful dependents ; 
and it was owing to this, that a serious misunderstand- 
ing had taken place between her and the late king and 
queen, which continued till the death of the latter. Anne 
had been taught to consider the tories as friends of the mo= 



382 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

narchy, and the true sons of the church ; and they had 
always professed an inviolable attachment to her person 
and interest. 

The death of William excited the greatest consternation 
throughout Holland ; but the anxiety of the States-General 
was relieved, by the arrival of the earl of Marlborough, who 
assured them that her majesty would adhere to all the sti- 
pulations which had been entered into by the late king. 

In her first speech to parliament, Anne made the most 
conciliatory declaration of her views and principles ; and 
in return, they settled on her, during ^ife, the same reve- 
nue as had been enjoyed by the late king. When the bill 
received the royal assent, the queen assured them, that one 
hundred thousand pounds of this revenue should be ap- 
plied to the public service of the year. 

When the subject of the intended war was debated in 
the queen's privy-council, the earl of Rochester, maternal 
uncle to the queen, proposed that the English should act 
only as auxiliaries, and that the chief burden of the war 
should be borne by the continental allies, who had most 
to fear from the power of France ; but the earl of Marl- 
borough observed, that France could never be reduced 
within due limits, unless the English entered as principals 
in the quarrel. The opinion of Marlborough prevailed ; 
and he was also appointed captain-seneral of all her ma- 
jesty's forces, to be employed in conjunction with the 
troops of the allies. 

The Dutch too, to whom the earl had been sent am- 
bassador-extraordinary, gave him the same appointment 
over their forces ; and the allies having promised to fur- 
nish their quotas of troops, every thing was concerted 
for commencing the war, the avowed object of which, as 
far as concerned England, was to put the house of Austria 
in possessioQ of the throne of Spain, and to procure a bar- 
rier for the Dutch in the Netherlands. 

Marlborough, at the head of sixty thousand men, took 

the field in the month of July, and obliged the duke of 

Burgundy, who commanded the French army, to retire 

before the allied troops, and to leave Spanish Guel- 

t^^^g derland exposed. The town and castle of Werk 

' surrendered ; Venlo capitulated ; and Ruremonde 

was reduced after an obstinate defence. BoufflerSj whom 



ANNE. 383 

Burgundy had left in the command, confounded at the 
rapidity of Marlborough's success, retired towards Liege ; 
but, at the approach of the confederates, he directed his 
march towards Brabant ; and Marlborough took that city 
by assault, in which the allies found considerable public 
booty. 

Meanwhile, the combined fleets of England and Hol- 
land, under the command of sir George Rooke, after an 
unsuccessful attack on Cadiz, captured the Spanish gal- 
leons at Vigo, with riches to the amount of seveu million 
pieces of eight. 

Marlborough, who arrived in England about the latter 
end of November, received the thanks of the house of 
commons for his great and signal services, which were so 
acceptable to the queen, that she created him a duke, and 
complimented him with a grant of five thousand pounds 
per annum out of the pos^-office. About the same time, 
the parhanjent settled the yearly sum of one hundred 
thousand pounds on George, prince of Denmark, the 
queen's consort, in case he should survive her. 

In the next campaign, the duke of Marlborough, being 
unable to provoke marshal Villeroy to hazard a battle, was 
obliged to content himself with the capture of Bon- 
ne, Huy, Limburgh, and Gueldres. The duke ^«^cj 
was restricted in his enterprises by the deputies of 
the States-General, who began to be influenced by the in- 
trigues of the Louvestein faction. 

In the beginning of next year, the duke of Marlborough 
assembled his army at Maestricht ; and having concerted 
the plan of operations with the States, he crossed 
the Rhine at Coblentz. After effecting a junction . * ' 
with prince Eugene and the imperiahsts, the allied 
army, on the second day of July, attacked the Bavarians 
in their intrenchments at Donavert ; and, after an obsti- 
nate resistance, succeeded in defeating the enemy, who 
left six thousand men dead on the field of battle. 

The elector of Bavaria, being joined by marshal Tal- 
lard, crossed the Danube. The duke of Marlborough and 
prince Eugene found the enemy advantageously posted 
upon a hill near Hochstadt, their right being covered by 
the Danube and the village of Blenheim, their left by the 
village of Lutzingem, and their front by a rivulet, the banks 

33* 



384 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

of which were steep, and the bottom marshy. Notwith- 
standing these difficulties, the generals resolved to attack 
the French and Bavarians, whose army amounted to sixty 
thousand men. Marshal j allard commanded on the 
right, and threw twenty-seven battalions, with twelve 
squadrons, into the village of Blenheim, where he suppo- 
sed the allies would make their chief effort ; their left was 
conducted by the elector of Bavaria, assisted by Marsin. 
a French general of experience. 

The duke of Marlborough, taking advantage of the in- 
judicious arrangenient of riis opponent, ordered the villa- 
ges to be attacked by his infantry, and with his horse in 
person fell on the Frencii cavalry, commanded by marshal 
Tallard. After several charges, the i^rench horse were 
totally subdued, and diiven into the Danube, where most 
of them perished ; and ren battalions oi foot were at the 
same time charged on ell sides, and cut to pieces. The 
elector of Bavaria raaoe a resolute defence against prince 
Eugene, but, at length, was obliged to give way. The 
confederates bemg now masters of the field, surrounded 
the village of Blenheim ; and the twenty-seven battalions 
and twelve squadrons, despairing of forcing their way 
through the allies, surrendered themselves prisoners of 
war. 

Never was a victory more complete. Ten thousand 
French and Bavarians were left dead on the field of battle ; 
the greater pan of hirty squadrons of horse perished in 
the Danube ; and thirteen thousand were made prisoners ; 
and the enemy lost their camp equipage, baggage, and ar- 
tillery. Marshal Tallard was taken prisoner. The allies 
concluded the campaign, with the capture of Landau and 
Trierbach. 

Sir George Rooke, who had been sent with a squadron 
to Barcelona, made a sudden and successful attack on Gi- 
braltar, and took possession of that important fortress, 
which has ever since belonged to England. 

In the campaign of 1705, the object of the duke of Marl- 
borough was to penetrate to France by the Moselle ; but 
his operations were ill-seconded by prince Louis of Ba- 
den, who was suspected of treachery, or who was actua- 
ted by envy of the duke's military reputation. In the 
mean time, the French invested and took Huy, and besie- 
ged Liege ; but Marlborough, returning into the Nether- 



ANNE. 385 

lands, retook Huy, and obliged the French to abandon 
their enterprise against Liege. The EngUsh general, in- 
flamed with a desire of achieving some action of impor- 
tance, attacked the enemy in their lines, defeated the Ba- 
varian cavalry vi^ith great slaughter, and obliged the infant- 
ry also to give way. 

Meanwhile, an English fleet, with five thousand troops 
under the command of the earl of Peterborough and sir 
Cloudesly Shovel, being joined by a Dutch squadron at 
Lisbon, and re-enforced by a body of horse from the earl 
of Galway's army in Portugal, having taken the archduke 
Charles on board, directed its course to Catalonia. The 
troops were disembarked at Barcelona, and Charles land- 
ed amidst the acclamations of a countless multitude, who 
threw themselves at his feet, exclaiming, " Long live the 
king 1" Bacelona was compelled to capitulate ; and the 
whole province of Catalonia declared for Charles, who 
now assumed the title of king of bpain, and took up his 
winter quarters in the heart of that country. 

Villeroy, having received orders to act on the offensive, 
passed the Doyle, advanced to Tirlemont, and from thence 
to Ramilies, where he met the united army of the 
allies. Both sides prepared for battle. The duke j^^p* 
of Marlborough ordered lieutenant-general Schultz, 
with twelve battalions, and twenty pieces of cannon, to 
attack the village of Ramilies, which was strongly fortified 
with artillery. 

The main body of the enemy was speedily driven from 
the field ; and the confederates obtained a complete vic- 
tory. About eiglit thousand French and Bavarians were 
killed or wounded ; and the allies captured the enemy's 
baggage and artillery, about one hundred and twenty col- 
ours or standards, six hundred officers, and six thousand 
private soldiers. 

The entire conquest of Brabant, and almost all Spanish 
Flanders, was the immediate result of the battle of Rami- 
lies. Louvaine, Mechlin, Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, and 
Bruges, submitted without resistance : Ostend was obliged 
to capitulate ; and the captures of Menin, Dendermonde, 
and Aeth, speedily followed. 

In Spain, the French were also unsuccessful : and king 
Philip was obliged to raise the siege of Barcelona. The 



380 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

earl of Gal way, advancing into Estremadura, took Alcau 
tara, and marched to Madrid, which the English and Por- 
tuguese entered without resistance. 

In Italy, the French were defeated by prince Eugene, 
at Turin, and the duke of Savoy entered his capital in 
triumph. The duke of Orleans retreated into Danphine ; 
while the French garrisons were expelled from every place 
they occupied in Piedmont and Italy, with the exception 
of Cremona, Valenza, and the castle of Milan, which 
were blockaded by the confederates. 

In return for the great services which he had rendered 
his country, the commons, in an address, besought her ma- 
jesty to consider the means by which the memory of the 
duke of Marlborough's noble actions might be perpetuated. 
The queen informed them by a message, that she intend- 
ed to grant to the duke, and his heirs, the interest of the 
crown in the honour and manor of Woodstock and the 
hundred of Wooten ; and she desired the assistance of 
the house, in clearing from incumbrance the lieutenancy 
and rangership of the park, with the rents and profits of 
the manor and hundred, which had already been alienated 
for two lives. Accordingly, a bill was brought in and pas- 
sed, enabling the queen to bestow the aforesaid honour 
and manor on the duke of Marlborough and his heirs ; and 
her majesty was desired to advance the money for clearing 
the incumbrances. The queen not only complied with 
this address, but likewise ordered the comptroller of her 
works to build on Woodstock-park, the magnificent palace 
or castle of Blenheim, as a monument of the signal victo- 
ry obtained by the duke of Marlborough near the village of 
that name. 

Previously to this, the queen, with the concurrence of 
parliament, had alienated that branch of the revenue 
which arose from the first-fruits and tenths paid by the 
clergy, and vested it in trustees for the augmentation of 
small livings. At the same time, the statute of mortmain 
was repealed, so far as to allow all persons to bestow by 
will, or grant by deed, what they should think fit for the in- 
crease of benefices. 

The union between England and Scotland, which was 
effected about this time, was an event more glorious and 
beneficial than the most splendid success of the British 



ANNE. 387 

arms. This measure, however, imperiously urged by wis- 
dom, was violently opposed by popular prejudice in Scot- 
land ; but, at length, the two kingdoms were united under 
one legislature, and one government ; and the 
union, though unpromising in its origin, has been '' 
productive of happiness and prosperity to both 
kingdoms. 

In the mean time, Louis, whose pride had been greatly 
humbled by the victories of the duke of Marlborough, and 
the exertions of the English, offered peace on the following 
terms : That Milan, Naples, and Sicily, should be given to 
the archduke ; that a barrier in the Netherlands should be 
allowed to the Dutch ; and that the duke of Savoy should 
be indemnified for the ravages committed in his dominions. 
In return for these concessions, he demanded the quiet 
possession of the throne of Spain, the Indies to his grand- 
son, Philip v., and the restitution of Bavaria to its native 
prince. 

These offers, however, were rejected ; and the charac- 
ter of the duke of Marlborough was at this lime so high in 
the nation, that both houses of parliament renewed their 
thanks to him, passed a bill to perpetuate his titles in the 
female as well as the male line, and readily voted supplies 
for prosecuting the war. 

But, notwithstanding all his grace's abilities and influ- 
ence, he could not escape the envy which too frequently 
attends on transcendent talents and uninterrupted success. 
Mrs. Masham, a distant relation of the duchess of Marl- 
borough, who had, from this connexion, obtained the 
office of woman of the bed-chamber, succeeded to that as- 
cendency over the mind of her sovereign, which the duchess 
had long maintained. This favourite was more obliging 
than her benefactrei^s, who had frequently opposed the 
wishes of the queen ; and in political intrigues, she acted 
as auxiliary to Mr. Robert Harley, who had been appointed 
secretary of state, and who determmed to destroy the cre- 
dit of the duke of Marlborough and the earl of Godolphin. 
His intention was to unite the tories under his own aus- 
pices, and expel the whigs from the administration ; and, 
in this scheme, he was assisted by Henry St. John, after- 
wards lord Bolingbroke, a man of elegant taste and an as- 
piring mind, whose talents, however, were rather specious 



388 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

than profound, and whose principles were loose and un- 
settled. 

The duke of Marlborough and the earl of Godolphin. 
apprized of the secret intrigues which Mr. Harley carried 
on with Mrs. Masham, informed the queen that they could 
serve her no longer, if that minister were continued in his 
office of secretary. The queen endeavoured to appease 
their resentment, but in vain ; and she was obliged to re- 
move Mr. Harley from his office ; but her majesty was in- 
dignant at the conduct of the duke and the earl of Godol- 
phin, from whom she withdrew her confidence. 

At this period, the nation was alarmed with a threatened 
invasion from France, in favour of the Pretender, or the 
chevalier bt. George, as he was called. The queen com- 
municated to the commons the advice which she had re- 
ceived of the destination of the French armament ; and 
both houses immediately joined in a loyal and affectionate 
address on this occasion : the habeas corpus act was sus- 
pended ; the Pretender and his adherents were proclaimed 
traitors and rebels ; and a bill was passed, discharging the 
clans of Scotland, where it was expected the Chevalier 
would land, from all vassalage to those chiefs who should 
arm against her majesty. 

Preparations for this expedition were made at Dunkirk, 
where a fleet was assembled under count Fourbin, and a 
body of land forces embarked ; and this armament, after 
leaving Dunkirk, directed its course for Scotland. Sir 
George Byng, who had received advice of its departure 
from the coast of France, pursued the enemy with an En- 
glish squadron so closely, that both fleets arrived in the 
Frith of Forth almost at the same time ; when the French 
commander, despairing of success, and unwiUing to try the 
issue of a battle, took advantage of a land-breeze, and sail- 
ed away. The Pretender desired to be set on shore at 
Inverness ; but this being found impracticable, the Che- 
valier and his general returned to Dunkirk. 

The duke of Marlborough, with his usual success, de- 
feated the French near Oudenarde. In this battle, 
1708 *^® French had about three thousand men killed 
* in the field, and seven thousand taken prisoners. 
After obtaining this victory, the aUies invested Lisle, the 
strongest place in Flanders, and the bulwark of the French 



ANNE. 389 

barrier. Prince Eugene commanded, and the duke of 
Marlborough covered and sustained the siege. The gar- 
rison was numerous, and was commanded by a marshal 
of France 5 but nothing could resist bravery and skill 
united. The enemy assembled all their forces, and march- 
ed to therelief of the place, but were only spectators to 
Its fall. The duke obliged the elector of Bavaria to raise 
the siege of Brussels ; and re-took Ghent and Bruoes 
which had been lost by treachery. ° ' 

On the twenty-eighth of October of this year, died 
Oeorge, prince of Denmark, a personage who possessed 
all the amiable qualities of his consort, but who was devoid 
of great talents and ambition. At his death, the earl of 
f f"ibroke was created lord-high-admiral, the earl of 
Wharton was promoted to the government of Ireland, and 
lord Somers appointed president of the council. Notwith- 
staading the advancement of these whig noblemen, the 
duke of Marlborough continued to decline in his credit 
with the queen, who privately consulted, and placed her 
chief confidence in Mr. Harley, though the latter held no 
ostensible situation in the administration. 

Meanwhile, the duke of Savoy, by making himself mas- 
n ^^® i^^Portant fortresses of Exilles, LaPerouse, the 
valley of St. Martin, and Fenestrells, had not only secur- 
ed a barrier to his own frontiers, but opened a way into the 
b rench provinces on the side of Dauphine ; while the pos- 
session of Lisle exposed that monarchy on the side of the 
Netherlands. 

During this campaign, major-general Stanhope, with 
three thousand men, having landed on the island of Mi- 
norca, took fort St. Philip in three days ; and the garrison 
ot tort lornelles having surrendered themselves prisoners 
to admiral sir John Leake, the whole island submitted to 
the LngJish government. 

By this time the pride of Louis was humbled, and he 
once more made proposals of peace to the Dutch ; but the 
States immediately communicated his proposals to the 
courts of Vienna and London ; and the emperor appointed 
prince Eugene of Savoy, and Great Britain the duke of 
Marlborough, as their respective plenipotentiaries. The 
alhes, however, rendered insolent by conquest, made de- 
mands which were considered extravagant by the French 



390 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

tnonarcb, who gathering resolution from despair, publish- 
ed them and his own concessions ; and the people, ani- 
mated with the desire of defending their king and country, 
displayed extraordinary efforts in preparing to resist the 
tremendous power of the enemy. 

The allies, on their side, were equally active. Marl- 
borough and prince Eugene proceeded to Flanders ; and 
the allied army assembled on the plain of Lisle, to the num- 
ber of one hundred and ten thousand men. Tourney soon 
fell, and the siege of Mons was formed. The French army, 

amounting to one hundred and twenty thousand 
^' Q men, were posted in the neighbourhood of Mal- 

plaquet. In the night of the tenth of September, 
the two armies arrayed themselves in order of battle ; and, 
about eight o'clock the next morning, one of the most furi- 
ous contests that had taken place in this war commenced. 
The battle was maintained with the most determined cou- 
rage on both sides. The French fought with an obstinacy 
bordering on despair, till seeing their lines forced, and 
their general dangerously wounded, they retreated in good 
order, and took post between Quesnoy and Valenciennes. 
The field of battle was abandoned to the confederates, 
with about forty colours and standards, sixteen pieces of 
artillery, and a number of prisoners ; but it was the dear- 
est victory the allies had ever purchased. About twenty 
thousand of their best troops were killed in the engage- 
ment, while the enemy did not lose half that number. 
The battle of Malplaquet, however, was followed by the 
surrender of Mons ; and this achievment terminated the 
campaign. Some attempts at negotiation were again 
made by Louis ; but in proportion to his concessions, the 
allies rose in their demands. 

During this campaign the military operations in Spain 
and Portugal were unfavourable to the allies. The castle 
of Alicant, garrisoned by two English regiments, had been 
besieged during a whole winter. At length, the com- 
mander of the besieging forces ordered the rock on which 
the castle was situated to be undermined ; and colonel 
Syburgh, the governor, was informed, that it was intended 
to spring the mine, if he did not surrender in twenty-four 
hours. Syburgh, however, refused to comply ; and the 
rock being split by the explosion, the colonel and several 



% 



ANNE. ^91 

officers were swallowed up in the opening, which imme- 
diately closed upon them ; but, notwithstanding this terri- 
ble accident, the garrison persisted in its defence, till the 
arrival of general Stanhope, who procured an honourable 
capitulation. 

Henry Sacheverell, a man of very moderate talents, but 
of a busy and meddling disposition, in a sermon preached 
at St. Paul's, on the fifth day of November, took occasion 
to inveigh with bitterness against the ministry, the dissent- 
ers, and the low church : he defended the doctrine of non- 
resistance, and declaring religion to be in danger, exhorted 
the people to stand up in defence of the church. This 
sermon being printed, was speedily dispersed over the 
kingdom ; and Mr. Dolben, son of the late archbishop of 
York, complained of it to the house of commons, in con- 
sequence of which Sacheverell was taken into custody and 
impeached. 

The attention of the whole kingdom was fixed on this 
extraordinary trial, though neither the m,an nor his publi- 
cation deserved any other than silent contempt. The 
trial continued for three weeks ; and a vast multitude at- 
tended Sacheverell every day to and from Westminster- 
hall, praying for his deliverance as if he had been a mar- 
tyr. The queen's sedan was surrounded by the populace, 
who exclaimed, " God bless your majesty and the church ; 
we hope your majesty is for Sacheverell." They abused 
and insulted all who would not join in the cry of " the 
church and Sacheverell ;" destroyed several meeting- 
houses, and plundered the dwellings of eminent dissent- 
ers. 

Sacheverell was found guilty by a majority of seventeen 
voices ; he was prohibited from preaching for the term of 
three years ; and his sermon was ordered to be burnt in 
the presence of the lord-mayor and the sheriffs of London, 
before whom it had been delivered. The lenity of the 
sentence, which was in a great measure owing to a dread 
of the popular fury, was celebrated as a triumph over the 
whigs. 

The French king, sensible that the misery of his people 
daily increased by the continuance of the war, again 
made overtures for peace ; but finding that the . -1 . ' 
allies would not listen to reasonable or honourable 

34 



392 HISTORV of ENGLAND, 

lernig, and hoping that the approaching change in the 
English ministry might be productive of advantage to him, 
he resolved to await the events of another campaign. 
The duke of Marlborough, however, still continued his 
successes. He took Douay, Bethune, Venant, and Aire^ 
which opened a free passage into the heart of France. 
On the Rhine, the campaign produced no military event; 
and, in Spain, both parties were by turns conquerors and 
conquered. 

In England, the effects of those intrigues which had 
been formed against the whig ministers, began to appear. 
The trial of Sacheverell had excited a popular spirit of 
aversion to those who favoured the dissenters ; and the 
queen expressed her attachment to the tories, by mortify- 
ing the duke of Marlborough, whose interest was not suffi- 
cient to prevent the dismission of his own son-in-law, the 
earl of Sunderland, from the office of secretary of state, 
Harley became sole minister, and was created earl of Ox- 
ford and Mortimer. 

The new ministry, however, had not yet determined to 

supersede Marlborough in the command of the army. In 

the next campaign, prince Eugene acted in Germany, and 

the duke of Marlborough was again opposed by marshal 

Villars, who had assembled a numerous army, and 

. * * which he encamped in a strong position behind the 

* river Sanset. Villars boasted that the French 

lines were impregnable ; but the duke of Marlborough 

entered these lines without the loss of a single soldier ; and 

he afterwards reduced the strong town of Bouchain in the 

very sight of the French army, which was superior to his 

own, and made the garrison, consisting of six thousand 

men, prisoners of war. 

This was the last memorable military service performed 
by the duke of Marlborough. The ministers took every 
method which envy and malice could suggest, to exaspe- 
rate the nation against the duke, who had supported so 
nobly the glory of England, humbled the pride and checked 
the ambition of France, secured the hberty of Europe, 
and, as it were, chained victory to his chariot-wheels. 
Of Marlborough it has been justly observed, that he never 
laid siege to a town which he did not take, or fought a 
battle which he did not win. His understanding was as 



ANNE. 393 

injurious to France as his military abilities ; and he was 
-equally famous in the cabinet as in the field. 

Such, however, is the violent conduct of faction, that 
this consummate general and statesman was ridiculed in 
pubUc libels, and reviled in private conversation. He 
was represented as guilty of fraud, avarice, and extortion, 
and traduced as the meanest of mankind. Even his cou- 
rage was called in question ; and he was accused of inso- 
lence, ambition, and misconduct. When his enemies had 
become ministers, the same parliament, which had so often 
before voted him thanks for the great and important servi- 
ces he had peformed, now determined, by a large mHJori- 
ty, that some of his practices had been unwarrantable and 
illegal ; and on the strength of these resolutions, origina- 
ting solely from party motives, the queen dismissed him 
from all his employments, and the command was given to 
the duke of Ormond. 

By the death of Joseph, emperor of Germany, his bro- 
ther, the archduke Charles, became possessed of all the 
hereditary states of the «mpif e ; and soon after being 
elected emperor, the object of the war was certainly 
changed ; for his accession to the thrones of both Germa- 
ny and Spain would have effectually destroyed that balance 
of power, for the maintenance of which so much blood 
had been spilt. 

A congress was therefore appointed at Utrecht ; and, 
after negotiations bad been long carried on at that place, 
peace was signed, March 31, 1713, by all the belligerant 
powers, except the emperor. By the treaty of Utrecht, 
Spain and the Indies were confirmed to Philip ; but the 
Netherlands and the Spanish dominions in Italy were 
separated from that monarchy. Naples, Sardinia, and 
Milan, were bestowed on the emperor ; and Sicily, with 
the title of king, was given to the duke of Savoy. The 
Dutch had a barrier assigned them against France in the 
Netherlands ; while all that Great Britain gained, after so 
glorious a war, and so many splendid victories, was the 
demolition of Dunkirk, and the possession of Gibraltar 
and Minorca. 

The ambition of St. John, lord viscount Bolingbroke, 
would not allow him to act a subordinate part under Har- 
ley, earl of Oxford ; and the former had insinuated him= 



394 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

g^elf into the confidence of Mrs. Masham, whom the lat- 
ter had displeased. By means of that lady, Bolingbroke 
was confirmed in the good opinion of the queen, while 
Oxford in proportion lost the favour of his sovereign. The 
queen, harassed by discordant counsels, and perceiving 
her constitution giving way, was supposed by some to form 
real designs of securing the succession to her brother ; 
and it was strongly suspected, that Bolingbroke was at- 
tached to the same interest, and encouraged her majesty 
with the most flattering hopes of success. 

After the peace had received the sanction of parliament, 
the two rivals, unrestrained by the tie of common danger, 
gave a loose to their mutual animosity ; and a very acri- 
monious dialogue passed, on the 27th of July, between 
Mrs. Masham, Oxford, and Bolingbroke, in the presence 
of the queen. Soon after, Oxford was deprived of his 
badge of office ; but as no provision had been made for 
supplying his place, confusion and disorder ensued at court. 

The fatigue of attending a long cabinet-council held on 
this occasion, and the altercation which passed between 
the ministers at the board, so agitated and afiected the 
queen's spirits, that she wels immediately seized with an 
apoplectic disorder, which baffled all the power of medi- 
cine. Her majesty continued in a lethargic insen- 
^ ' ' sibility, with short intervals, till her death, which 
took place on the first day of August, in the fifti- 
eth year of her age, and the thirteenth of her reign. 

Anne was of the middle size, and well proportioned : 
her countenance was round, her features regular, her com- 
plexion ruddy, and her hair a dark brown. In domestic 
life, she was a pattern of conjugal affection, and a tender 
mother. She wanted, however, the vigour of mind requi- 
site to preserve her independence, and to free her from 
the snares of favourites ; but the virtues of her heart 
were never doubted ; and, notwithstanding the party feuds 
which embittered her repose, and disturbed her reign, she 
was personally beloved by her people. In a word, though 
her abilities were unequal to the high station which she 
filled, and her attachment to favourites was injurious to 
lier government and the nation, she was a humane and 
munificent sovereign, and well deserved the title, which 
her subjects gave her, of " the good queen Anne," 



GEORGE i. 395 

CHAP. XX. 

The Reign of George I. 

If providence had granted a longer life to Anne, and 
the daring and ambitious St. John had continued to influ- 
ence her councils, there seems reason to suppose that at- 
tempts would have been made to restore the hereditary 
line. Certain it is, that the friends of the Pretender de- 
rived great hopes from the ministry of Bolingbroke ; but 
the sudden death of the queen, by destroying the expecta- 
tions of the Jacobites, put an end to their present machin- 
ations, and thus removed the fears and apprehensions of 
the whigs. 

Agreeably to the act of Settlement passed in the reign 
of William, George I., elector of Hanover, descen- 
ded by his mother from Elizabeth, daughter of 1.^1 / 
James I., was proclaimed king in due form, the 
very day of the queen's death, and the submission of thq 
three kingdoms was as universal, as if no pretended claim 
existed. 

At the time of his ascending the throne of Great Brit- 
ain, George was in the fifty-fifth year of his age. In about 
six weeks, he landed at Greenwich, where he was receiv- 
ed by the lords of the regency ; and on the twentieth day 
of October following, he was crowned at Westminster, 
with the usual solemnity. 

The hopes and fears of both the whigs and tories were 
great at this time ; but the new sovereign had been pre- 
possessed against the latter ; and his majesty effected an 
instantaneous and total change in all important offices 
under government. The duke of Ormond was dismissed 
from his command, which the king restored to the duke of 
Marlborough, with several new appointments ; the earl^of 
Nottingham was declared president of the council ; the 
great seal was given to lord Cov.per ; the privy-seal to the 
earl of Wharton ; and the vice-royalty of Ireland to the earl 
of Sunderland. Lord Townshend and Mr. Stanhope were 
appointed secretaries of state ; Mr. Pulteney secretary of 
war ; and Mr. Walpole, who had undertaken to manage 
the house of commons, was made paymaster to the army. 
The post of secretary for Scotland was bestowed on the 
duke of Montrose ; -and the duke of Argyle was appointed 

34* 



3&6 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

commander in chief of the forces in that country. Thus 
the whigs obtained an ascendancy both in and out of par- 
liament. 

Meanwhile, the malcontents in England were consider- 
ably increased by the king's attachment to the whigs ; and 
dangerous tumults were raised in different parts of the 
kingdom. The pretender took this opportunity to trans- 
mit copies of a printed menifesto to various noblemen of 
tlie first distinction. In this declaration, he mentioned the 
good intentions of his sister towards him, which had been 
prevented by her death ; and observed that his people had 
proclaimed for their king a. foreign prince, contrary to the 
laws of hereditary right, which no act could abrogate. 

When the parliament met, the earl of Oxford, the duke 
of Ormond, the earl of Strafford, and lord Bolingbroke, 
were impeached, on account of the parts which they had 
acted in regard to the peace of Utrecht. Bolingbroke fled 
to the continent, and was followed by Ormond ; but though 
Oxford, Prior, and some others, were taken into custody, 
they all escaped punishment. Ormond and Bolingbroke, 
not surrendering themselves within the time appointed, 
the house of lords ordered their names to be erased from 
the list of peers ; and inventories were taken of their per- 
sonal ostates. It is impossible to reflect on the ruin of the 
noble family of Ormond, in the person of a brav-e and hu- 
mane nobleman, whose only crime was obedience to the 
commands of his sovereign, without feeling the greatest 
indignation against those who were the promoters of such 
iniquitous proceedings. 

The spirit of discontent daily increased in England ; and 
notwithstanding the proclamations against riots, several 
tumults were raised in the cities of London and Westmin- 
ster. A trifling incident served to augment the pubhc 
ferment. The shirts allowed to the first regiment of guards, 
commanded by the duke of Marlborough, were so coarse, 
that the. soldiers could scarcely be persuaded to wear them. 
Some of the shirts were thrown into the garden of the 
king's palace, and into that whioh belonged to the duke of 
Marlborough ; and a detachment, in marching through the 
city, produced them to the people, exclaiming, " These 
are the Hanover shirts." 

Tumults were raised in Staffordshire, and other parts of 
the kingdom ; and the house of commons presented an 



XiEORGE I. 337 

address to the king, desiring that the laws might be exe- 
cuted with vigour against rioters. They also passed a new 
act, by which it was decreed, that if any persons, to the 
number of twelve, unlawfully assembled, should continue 
together one hour after having been required to disperse 
by a justice of peace or other officer, and had heard the 
proclamation against riots read in public, they should be 
deemed guilty of felony without benefit of clergy. 

The king having informed both houses that a rebellion 
had actually commenced , and that the nation was threatened 
with a foreign invasion, the parliament immediately passed 
a law, empowering his majesty to secure suspected persons, 
and to suspend the habeas corpus act. About this period, 
the royal assent was given to an act for encouraging loy- 
alty in Scotland. By this law, the tenant who continued 
peaceable, while his lord took arnis in favour of the Pre- 
tender, was invested with the propriety of the lands he 
rented ; on the other hand, it decreed that the lands pos- 
sessed by any person guilty of high-treason should revert 
to the superior of whom they were held ; and a clause was 
added for summoning all suspected persons to find bail for 
their good behaviour. By virtue of this clause, all the 
heads of the Jacobite clans, and other suspected persons, 
v/ere summoned to Edinburgh ; and those who neglected 
to appear, were declared rebels. 

The disaffected, both in England and Scotland, held pri- 
vate consultations with the Jacobites ; and the Chevalier 
St. George was assured, that the whole nation was dissatis- 
fied with the new government. Resolving to take advan- 
tage of this favourable disposition, the Chevalier applied to 
the French king, who supplied him with the means of fit- 
ting out a small armament in the port of Havre ; but the 
death of Louis, which happened at this time, was highly 
detrimental to his interests ; and the duke of Orleans, on 
whom the regency of the kingdom devolved, adopted a 
new system of politics, and entered into the strictest alli- 
ance with the king of Great Britain. 

The partisans of the Pretender, however, had gone too 
far to recede. The earl of Mar, assembhng three hundred 
of his vassals, proclaimed the Chevalier at Castle- 
town, and on the sixth of September, set up his ,«ip-' 
standard at Brse Mar. Then assuming the title of 
lieutenant-general of the Pretender's forces, he pubUshed 



398 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

a declaration, exhorting the people to arm for their lawful 
sovereign ; and this was followed by a manifesto, in which 
the national grievances were enumerated and aggravated, 
and the people promised redress. 

Meanwhile, the duke of Argyle set out for Scotland, as 
commander-in-chief of the forces in North Britain ; and 
the earl of Sutherland set sail for that country, to raise his 
vassals in defence of his liege sovereign. Other heads of 
clans did the same ; and it was soon evident, that the 
voice of Scotland was far from being general in favour of 
the Pretender. 

In the North of England, however, the earl of Derwent- 
water and Mr. Foster took the field with a body of horse, 
and being joined by some gentlemen from the borders, 
proclaimed the Chevalier in Warkworth, Morpeth, and 
Alnwick. After an ineffectual attempt on Newcastle, they 
retired northwards, and being re-enforced by a body of 
troops under lords Kenmuir, Carnwath, and Wintown, 
the insurgents advanced to Kelso, where they were joined 
by Mackintosh, who had crossed the Forth with a body of 
highlanders. 

A council of war being called, the rebels determined to 
re-enter England by the western border. At Brampton, 
Foster opened his commission of general, and proclaimed 
the Pretender. They continued their march to Penrith, 
where the sheriff, assisted by lord Lonsdale and the bishop 
of Carlisle, had assembled the posse comitatus of Cumber- 
land, amounting to twelve thousand men, who fled at the 
approach of this small army. From Penrith, the insur- 
gents proceeded by the v/ay of Kendal and Lancaster to 
Preston, of which they took possession without opposi- 
tion. 

General Willis marched against the rebels, with six 
regiments of horse and one battalion of foot, and had ad- 
vanced to the bridge of Ribble, before Foster received in- 
telligence of their approach. At first, the king's troops 
met with a warm reception, but being re-enforced next day 
with three regiments of dragoons, under general Carpen- 
ter, the town was invested on all sides. The rebels now 
proposed to capitulate, but the general refusing to treat, 
they surrendered at discretion. The noblemen and lead- 
ers were secured, and sent prisoners to London. Some of 



GEORGE I. 39^ 

them were tried by the martial-law and executed ; and the 
common men were imprisoned at Chester and Liverpool, 
till the pleasure of government respecting them should be 
known. 

The very day on which the rebels surrendered at Preston, 
was fought the battle of Dumblaine, between the duke of 
Argyle and the earl of Mar. The duke's army was far 
inferior in point of numbers ; but he obtained the advan- 
tage, though both sides claimed the victory. 

In this desperate situation of his affairs, the Chevalier, 
embarking in a small vessel at Dunkirk, landed at Perhead 
on the twenty-second of December, and proceeded to Fet- 
terosse, where, being joined by the earls of Mar and Ma- 
rischal, and about thirty noblemen and gentlemen of the 
first quahty, he was proclaimed king. His declaration, 
dated at Commercy, was printed and circulated through 
all the adjacent counties ; and he received addresses from 
the episcopal clergy, and the laity of that communion in 
Aberdeenshire. On the 5th of January he made his public 
entry into Dundee ; and, on the 7th, he arrived at 
Scone, where he assumed all the functions of roy- |«if»' 
alty, and fixed his coronation for the 23d of the 
same month. 

This dream of royalty, however, was of short duration. 
In a council, at which all the chiefs of his party assisted, 
it was determined to abandon the enterprise, as they were 
destitute of money, arms and ammunition, and as they 
were beginning to be hemmed in by the king's army. 
The Chevalier, being hotly pursued by the duke of Argyle, 
was glad to embark on board a French vessel which lay 
in the harbour of Montrose, from whence he sailed to 
France, accompanied by Mar, Melfort, Drummond, Bulk- 
ley, and other persons of distinction. 

The rebellion being thus suppressed, the commons im- 
peached the nobility who had been engaged in this affair ; 
but of them the earl of Derwentwater and lord Kenmuir 
alone suffered death ; and few of the lower ranks were exe- 
cuted in comparison with the number found guilty. About 
one thousand, who submitted to the king's mercy, petition- 
ed for transportation, and were sent to America. 

The ministry, sensible of the unpopularity of their mea- 
sures, and fearing the effects of a new parliament, deter- 



4^0 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

^ ^ mined to repeal the triennial act, and by a new la>v 

jljg* to extend the term of parliaments to seven years. 
' Accordingly, on the 1 0th of April, the duke of 
Devonshire brought a bill into the house of lords for en- 
larging the continuance of parliaments, which was sup- 
ported by all the whig party ; and though it was strenu- 
ously opposed by the earls of Nottingham, Abingdon, and 
Paulet, it passed by a great majority ; and, in the lower 
house, it met with the same success. 

The Spanish king having taken Sardinia, and invaded 
Sicily, Great Britain, France, Holland, and the emperor, 
formed a quadruple alliance against his catholic majesty. 
Bremen, and Verdun, which had been purchased with the 
money of England, were secured to Hanover, contrary to 
the act of settlement in the reign of king William. Admi- 
ral sir George Byng sailed, with twenty ships of the line, 
for the Mediterranean ; and, on the eleventh of 

jljg August, he met, off cape Passaro, on the south- 
east point of Sicily, with the Spanish fleet, consisting 
of twenty-seven sail. An engagement ensued, in which sir 
George took or destroyed the greatest part of the hostile 
armament. 

The Spaniards now formed a scheme in favour of the 
Pretender, and sent a squadron, with six thousand regular 
troops and twelve thousand stand of arms, under the duke 
of Ormond, to invade Great Britain. The Spanish fleet, 
however, was dispersed by a violent storm, which defeated 
the intended expedition ; but two frigates arrived in Scot- 
land, with the earls Marischal and Seaforth, the marquis 
of Tullibardine, and three hundred Spaniards. These 
being attacked by General Wightman, were entirely de- 
feated. Soon after, lord Cobham made a descent on 
Spain, and took Vigo ; and his catholic majesty acceded 
to the quadruple alliance, which, indeed, was chiefly in 
favour of the emperor, who was desirous of adding Sicily 
to his other Italian dominions. 

On the royal recommendation to the conHsaons to take 
the national debt into consideration, a scheme was 

i^tg formed, called the South-Sea act, which was pro- 

' ductive of the greatest mischief and infatuation. 

The scheme was projected by sir John Blount, who ha^ 

feeen bred a scrivener, and who proposed to discharge the 



GEORGE U 401 

national debt, by reducing all the fu^ds into one. The 
bank and South-Sea company bade against each other ; 
and the terms of the latter were so advantageous, that 
government closed with them. 

While the matter was in agitation, the stock of the com- 
pany rose from one hundred and thirty to nearly four hun- 
dred ; and though the Mississippi scheme of Lavir had ruin- 
ed many thousand families in France, in the pre- 
ceding year, the people of England were so infa- \'»q() 
tuated, that the example did not operate as a 
warning. Blount imposed on the whole nation, which 
was seized with a kind of delirium. The projector and 
his associates pretended, that Gibraltar and Port Mahon 
would be exchanged for some places in Peru, by which 
means the English trade to the South-Sea would be 
protected and enlarged : the directors opened their books 
for a subscription of one million, at the rate of three 
hundred pounds for one hundred, capital stock ; and 
such was the eagerness of the multitude to subscribe, that 
in five days two millions were entered in the books, 
and stock advanced to double the price of the first pay- 
ment. 

By a promise of high dividends, and other artifices, the 
South-Sea stock was raised to one thousand. Exchange- 
alley was daily filled with an infatuated crowd of all 
ranks ; but in the course of a few weeks the stock fell to 
one hundred and fifty ; and the ebb of this tide of hope 
was so violent, as to overwhelm in ruin an infinite number 
of families. Public credit sustained a terrible shock. The 
principal actors in this nefarious undertaking were punish- 
ed by parliament, and measures were adopted for giving 
some redress to the injured parties. 

In the beginning of May, it was reported, that the king 
had received from the duke of Orleans information of a 
conspiracy against his person and government. In 
consequence, a camp was immediately formed in . '^yq 
Hyde park ; all mihtary officers were ordered to 
repair to their respective posts ; troops were sent from 
Ireland ; the states of Holland were desired to have their 
auxiliary forces ready to be embarked ; and some suspect- 
ed persons were apprehended in Scotland. 

Among the individuals supposed to be implicated in this 
treasonable conspiracy, were Atterbury, bishop of Roches- 



402 HISTORY or ENGLAND. 

ter ; the earl of Orrery, the lords North and Grey ; Coch- 
rane and Smith, from Scotland ; Christopher Layer, a 
young gentleman of the Temple ; George Kelley, an Irish 
clergyman ; Cotton, Bingley, and Fleetwood, Enghshmen; 
and one Naynoe, an Irish priest. All these were taken 
into custody, and committed to different prisons. 

On the meeting of the new parhament, his majesty in- 
formed them of the nature and extent of the plot, which, 
he said, if it had not been timely discovered, would have 
involved the whole nation, and particularly the city of 
London, in blood and confusion. The parliament sus- 
pended the habeas corpus act for a year ; but the opposi- 
tion in the house of commons was so violent, that Mr. Ro- 
bert Walpole, the prime-minister, endeavoured to rouse 
their apprehensions by informing them of a design to seize 
the bank and exchequer, and to proclaim the Pretender 
on the Royal Exchange. To corroborate the whole, an 
original and printed copy of a declaration, signed by the 
Pretender at Lucca, was laid before the house. In this 
curious paper, the Chevalier expatiated on the grievances 
of England, and very gravely proposed, that if king 
George would relinquish the throne of Great Britain, he 
would, in return, bestow on him the title of king in his na- 
tive dominions, and secure to him the succession to the 
British sceptre, whenever, in due course, his natural right 
should take place. 

The commons prepared a bill for raising one hundred 
thousand pounds on the real and personal estates of 
papists, towards defraying the expenses incurred by the 
late rebellion and disorders ; and all persons of that faith 
in Scotland were called upon to register their names and 
real estates. 

These acts were followed by the trial, conviction, and 
execution of Layer. Against the lords who had been ar- 
rested, no evidence appeared, or at least was produced ; 
but Alterbury, bishop of Rochester, had rendered himself 
too conspicuous to escape punishment. On mere conjec- 
ture and hearsay evidence, a bill of pains and penalties 
passed the lower house against him, and was sent up to 
the lords, when the trial commenced. Nothing could be 
proved against him, except the uncertain evidence of the 
clerks of the post-office ; yet the bishop was deprived 
of all offices, benefices, and dignities, and rendered inca- 



«EORG£ II, 403 

pable of enjoying any for the future : he was also banished 
the realm, and subjected to the penalty of death in 
case he should return ; and all persons who should cor- 
respond with him in his exile, were declared guilty of a 
capital offence. 

The remainder of the reign of George the First presents 
little to excite attention. Intricate and contradictory 
treaties, most of which were inimical to the interests of 
this country, form the principal subjects of this portion of 
English history. 

The king was suddenly seized with a paralytic disorder, 
on the road from Holland to Hanover, and was conveyed 
in a state of insensibility to Osnaburgh, where he 
expired on Sunday, the 11th day of June, in the ^«o«* 
sixty-eighth year oi his age, and the thirteenth of ^''^'' 
his reign. 

George I. was plain in his person, and simple in his ad- 
dress. His deportment was grave and composed, though 
he could be easy and familiar in the hours of relaxation. 
Before he ascended the throne of Great Britain, he was 
considered an able and experienced general, a just and 
merciful prince, and a consummate politician. With these 
qualities, his disposition to govern England, according to 
the regulations of the British constitution, cannot be dis- 
puted ; and if ever he appeared to deviate from these prin- 
ciples, we readily allow, that the blame does not attach 
to him, but to his ministers, by whose venal suggestions 
he was misled. 

George I. married the princess Sophia Dorothy, daugh- 
ter of the duke of Zell, from whom he separated before 
he came to England. 



CHAP. XXL 

The Reign of George II. 

On the 1 4th day of June, an account was received of 
the late king's death, when the prince of Wales repaired 
from Richmond to Leicester-house, where a privy- 
council was held, and next day, George H. was ^' ^* 
proclaimed king with the usual solemnities. His ^^^^' 
majesty declared his firm purpose to preserve the consti* 

33 



404 HISTORY OF ENGLAXJD. 

tution in church and state, and to adhere to those alliari- 
ces into which his father had entered. At the same time^ 
he took and subscribed the oath for the security of the 
church of Scotland, as required by the act of union ; and 
he continued all the great officers of state in their places. 

In his speech to both houses, on the opening of the par- 
liament, the king professed a fixed resolution to merit the 
love and affection of his people, by maintaining them in 
the full enjoyment of their rehgious and civil rights, and 
by studying to lessen the expenses of government on eve- 
ry occasion. 

Sir Robert Walpole followed these gracious assurances, 
by moving that the entire revenue of the civil-list, which 
produced about eight hundred thousand pounds per an- 
num, should be settled on the king during life ; and though 
Mr. Shippen and other patriots opposed any increase of 
the royal revenue, as inconsistent with the trust reposed 
in them, the motion was carried by a great majority ; and 
a liberal provision was made for the queen, in case she 
should survive his majesty. In short, the two houses of 
parliamt nt seemed to vie with each other in expressing 
their attachment to the new king ; and, for a time, all 
parties appeared to be united in alTection to his person and 
in submission to the proposals of his ministers. 

Sir Robert Walpole, though he disclaimed any intention 
of promoting a general excise, expatiated on the benefits 
which would accrue to the nation by a partial measure of 
that nature, and prevent numberless frauds oii the public 
und the fair trader. The speech of the minister was fol- 
lowed by a motion, that a partial excise on tobacco should 
be levied. This measure met with a violent opj)osition, as 
well from the consideration of the train of depen- 
-' c>* dants it would produce, as from the dread of its 
extension to other articles ; and the ferment be- 
came so great throughout the nation, that though the min- 
ister had a triumphant majority of sixty-one in the house 
of commons, he was obliged to waive the advantage, and 
abandon the scheme. 

Ever since the treaty of Seville, in 1729, the Spaniards 
in America had almost incessantly insulted and distressed 
the commerce of Great Britain. They disputed the right 
of the English to cut logwood in the bay of Campeachy. 



GEORGE II. 405 

and gather salt on the island of Tortugas, though that 
right was acknowledged in all the treaties concluded be- 
tween the two nations. The captains of their armed ves- 
sels, called guarda-costas, made a practice of boarding 
and plundering English ships, on the pretence of searching 
for contraband goods ; and various other acts of cruelty 
and injustice were committed. In particular, one captain 
Jenkins, master of a Scottish merchant-ship, was boarded 
by the commander of a Spanish guarda-costa, who insult- 
ed Jenkins with the most opprobrious-invectives, and tore 
off one of his ears, which he bade him carry to the king, 
and tell him that the Spaniards would serve him in the 
same manner, if an opportunity should present itself. 

These outrages were loudly and justly complained of 
Petitions from different parts of the kingdom were pre- 
sented to the lower house ; and the relief of parliament 
was earnestly implored against these acts of violence. Sir 
John Barnard moved, that all the memorials and papers 
relative to the Spanish depredations should be laid bef )re 
the commons ; and though sir Robert Walpole proposed 
some alteration, he was obliged to comply. 

The minister, however, was either fond of peace, or 
afraid that war would injure his administration. Every 
endeavour, therefore, to prevent a rupture with Spain, 
was industriously employed ; and at last a convention 
was concluded and ratified, by which the king 
of Spain bound himself to pay, within a limited ir^op* 
time, the sum of ninety-nve thousand pounds, to 
be employed in discharging the demands of British sub- 
jects on the crown of Spain. This measure, however, 
excited great indignation ; and Mr. William Pitt, who 
afterv;ards rendered himself so illustrious by his elo- 
quence, his virtues, and his talents, declaimed against the 
convention, as insecure, unsatisfactory, and dishonourable 
to Great Britain. 

Tiie Spaniards not fulfilling the agreement into which 
they had entered, letters of marque and reprisal were 
granted against Spain ; a large fleet was assembled at 
Spithead : the land forces were augmented ; and 
an embargo was laid on all merchant vessels. Af- ^^^d 
ter another fruitless attempt to negotiate, war was 
at last fonnally declared. 

Admiral Vernon having affirmed, in the house of com- 



40t> HIST9RY OF ENGLAND. 

mons, that he could take Porto Bello, on the Spanish 
Main, with six ships, was despatched thither, and actually 
performed this hazardous service, almost without opposi- 
tion. On the arrival of this news, the two houses of par- 
liament joined in an address of congratulation on the suc- 
cess of his majesty's arms ; and the commons granted all 
the necessary supphes for carrying on the w^ar. 

The minister, however, was become extremely unpopu- 
lar. War was not the sphere of sir Robert Walpole. 
Expensive expeditions were projected, without producing 
any corresponding effect ; and the enemy was unmolested 
in proceeding from one port to another. In consequence, 
the minister was attacked in the house of commons with 
much asperity ; and though he contrived to retain his situa- 
tion, it was evident that his administration was verging 
towards a close. 

Charles VI., emperor of Germany, and the last male 
sovereign of the house of Austria, died at Vienna, and 
was succeeded in his hereditary dominions by his eldest 
daughter, the archdutchess Maria Theresa, married 
^ 1' to the grand duke of Tuscany ; but, though this 
princess became queen of Hungary, by virtue of the 
pragmatic sanction, the restless ambition of her neigh- 
bours would not suffer her to enjoy those possessions which 
had been guarantied by all the powers of Europe. Frede- 
rick, the young and aspiring king of Prussia, was no soon- 
er informed of the emperor's death, than he laid claim to 
Silesia, which he entered at the head of twenty thousand 
men. At the same time, the elector of Bavaria refused to 
acknowledge the archdutchess as queen of Hungary and 
Bohemia, alleging, that he himself had legitimate pre- 
tensions to these dominions. Thus a war was kindled in 
Germany ; and the archdutchess made requisition of twelve 
thousand men, stipulated by treaty to be furnished her by 
England. 

In the present posture of affairs, men could be less con- 
Teniently spared than money ; and sir Robert Walpole 
moved, that two hundred thousand pounds should be grant- 
ed in aid to the queen of Hungary. The motion passed, 
though not without opposition ; and the house resolved, 
that three hundred thousand pounds should be granted to 
his majesty t© enable him to assist the archdutchess. 



GEORGE II. 407 

An attempt was made on Cartliagena by sir Chaloner 
Ogle, and admiral Vernon ; but it failed of success, and 
was attended with the loss of many men, the gieatest part 
of whom were martyrs to the season and the climate. An- 
other unsuccessful expedition to Cuba finished the losses 
and the disgraces of this campaign. The nation com- 
plained loudly of these miscarriages ; and the general 
discontent had a great effect on the election of members 
for the new parliament. Notwithstanding all the ministe- 
rial influence, the party of opposition evidently prevailed. 
The adherents of the minister began to tremble ; and sir 
Robert Walpole knew, that the majority of a single vote 
would commit him prisoner to the Tower. After endeav- 
ouring in vain to bring over the prince of Wales to 
his party, he prudently meditated a retreat; and j«i/ 
the king having adjourned both houses of parha- 
raent, in the mean time sir Robert Walpole was created 
earl of Oxford, and resigned all his employments after be- 
ing a minister for twenty years. 

The change in the ministry was celebrated with public 
rejoicings ; yet, if the character of Walpole be candidly 
appreciated, we shall find less to censure than to praise. 
That he carried his measures by venal influence must be 
allowed, and this is the greatest stain that attaches to his 
character ; but those who suffered themselves to be cor- 
rupted, were at least equally blameable. When, however, 
we contemplate his aversion to war, and his disinterested 
conduct, when so much was at his disposal, we cannot de- 
ny him the tribute of our applause. 

fn the new. administration, the duke of Newcastle and 
Mr. Pelham retained their former situations. Mr. 
Sandys succeeded sir Robert Walpole as chancel- ^'Z.q 
lor of the exchequer ; and the earl of Wilmington 
was appointed tlrst lord of the treasury, in the room of the 
ex-minister. Lord Carteret became secretary of slate for 
the foreign department ; and Mr. Pulteney, wlio refused 
any ofiicial situation, was sworn of the privy- council, and 
soon after created earl of Bath. 

It soon however appeared, that those who had declaimed 
the loudest for the liberties of their country, had been ac- 
tuated solely by sordid or ridiculous motives. The people 
complained, th;it, instead of a change of men and meas- 
ures, the old ministry was strengthened by this coalition ; 

35* 



408 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

and they branded the new converts as apostates and be- 
trayers of their country. 

The parUament voted one hundred thousand seamen 
and landmen for the service of the year ; five hundred 
thousand pounds to the queen of Hungary ; and they 
provided for the subsidies to Denmark and Hesse Cassel. 
As the king had determined to make a powerful diversion 
in the Netherlands, sixteen thousand men were embarked 
for the continent, under the command of the earl of Stair ; 
and several thousand of Hanoverians, Hessians, and Aus- 
trians, were taken into British pay. 

The troops which the King of Great-Britain had assem- 
bled in the Netherlands, marched for the Rhme, and en- 
camped at Hoech on the river Maine. The duke of Cum- 
berland had already come to make his first campaign, and 
his majesty arrived in the camp on the 9th of June. The 
king found his army, amounting to about forty thousand 
men, in a critical situation ; and receiving intelligence that 
are-enforcement of twelve thousand Hanoverians and Hes- 
sians had reached Hanau, he resolved to march to that 
place, as well with a view to effect a junction, as to procure 
provisions for his forces. Soon after he had begun his 
march, he perceived the French drawn up in order of 
battle at the village of Dettingen ; and he now found himself 
enclosed on all sides T3y the enemy, insomuch that a 
174.S I'^treat was impossible. Thus environed, the con- 
federates must either have fought at a great disad- 
vantage, or been obliged to surrender, if the duke de 
Grammont had not rashly descended into the plain. The 
French charged with impetuosity, and the allies received 
the shock with great intrepidity and deliberation. The 
King himself displayed much personal courage ; and the 
duke of Cumberland was wounded. The French were at 
last repulsed, and obliged to cross the Maine, with the 
loss of five thousand men. 

The French, wiio had now become principals in the war, 
projected an invasion of Great-Britain, and made prepara- 
tions for that purpose at Boulogne and Dunkirk, under the 
inspection of the young Pretender ; but sir John Norris 
appearing with a fleet superior to that which was 
1744 ^^ convey the French forces, the expedition was 
laid aside for that season. However, in the Nether- 
lands, the enemy had considerable success under marshal 




William HI. 



Anne. 




George U. 



George III. 



GEORGE II. 409 

count Saxe, a natural son of Augustus, king of Poland, 
by the countess Koningsmark. 

In the next campaign, a very numerous army was as- 
sembled under marshal Saxe : and the French king and 
the dauphin arriving in the camp, the strong town of ^ ^^ 
Tournay was invested. The duke of Cumberland ^^^^ 
assumed the command of the allied army ; and 
though the confederates were greatly inferior in number 
to the enemy, they resolved to attempt the relief of Tour- 
nay. On the 28th of Aprils they came in sight of the 
French army, strongly encamped, under cover of the vil- 
lage of Fontonoy. On the 30th of April, they attacked 
the French in their entrenchments ; and though the at- 
tempt was considered rash and imprudent, the allied army 
at first had the advantage ; but the destructive fire of the 
enemy's batteries, to which they were exposed both in 
front and flank, at last obliged them to retreat. The allies 
lost about twelve thousand men, and the French nearly 
the same number ; but the consequences of this furious 
battle were all against the English and the allies. Tour- 
nay was compelled to surrender ; Ghent was surprised and 
taken ; Ostend, Dendermonde, Oudenarde, Newport, and 
Aeth, were successively reduced ; while the allied army 
lay entrenched behind the canal of Antwerp. 

The pretender, Charles, son of the chevalier de St. 
George, fired with ambition and the hope of ascending 
the throne of his ancestors, resolved to risk an invasion of 
Great Britain. Being furnished with a sum of money, and 
a supply of arms, he embarked on board of a small fri- 
gate, accompanied by the marquis of Tullybardine and a 
few Scottish and Irish adventurers, and was joined by the 
Elizabeth, a French ship of war, as his convoy. Their de- 
sign was to sail round Ireland, and to land on the western 
coast of Scotland ; but being met by the Lion, an Euglish 
ship of the line, an engagement ensued between the Lion 
and the Ehzabeth, in which the latter was so disabled, 
that she was obliged to return to Brest ; and the young 
Pretender was deprived of a great quantity of arms, and 
the assistance of about one hundred officers, who had 
embarked in that vessel for the expedition. Charles, how- 
ever in the frigate, continued his course to the western 
isles of Scotland, and on the 27th of July, landed on the 
coast of Lochaber, where he was soon joined by twelve 
hundred men, under their respective chiefs or leaders. 



410 HISTOHY OF ENGLAND, 

The administration was now sufficiently alarmed. The 
king was at this time in Hanover. The lords of the re- 
gency despatched a messenger to his majesty with the 
news, and offered a reward of thirty thousand pounds for 
the apprehension of Charles. Loyal addresses flocked in 
from all parts. The principal noblemen tendered their 
services to the government ; and the former discontents 
seemed to be forgotten in the fears of the present moment. 

The prince advanced to Perth, where the chevalier de 
St. George was proclaimed king of Great Britain ; and, 
the rebel army being considerably augmented, Charles, on 
the 16th of September, took possession of the town of 
Edinburgh. Here he caused his father again to be pro- 
claimed, and fixed his residence in the royal palace of 
Holyrood-hoase. 

Sir John Cope, commander-in-chief of the forces in 
North Britain, informed of these transaction, assembled 
all the troops he could muster, and, on the 20th of Sep- 
tember, encamped at Preston Pans, in the vicinity of Ed- 
inburgh. Next morning he was attacked by the Pretend- 
er, with about two thousand four hundred highlanders, 
who charged sword in hand ; and in less than ten minutes, 
the king's troops were totally routed, with the loss of 
about five hundred men. By this victory, Charles was 
supplied with a train of field-artillery, and found himself 
possessed of all Scotland, except the fortresses. 

The Pretender continued to reside in the palace of Ho- 
lyrood-house ; but after being joined by the lords Kilmar- 
nock, Elcho, Balmerino, and many other persons of dis- 
tinction, and receiving considerable supplies from France, 
he resolved to make an irruption into England. Accord- 
ingly, on the 6th of November, he entered Carlisle, whence 
he advanced to Penrith, and continued his route through 
Lancaster and Preston to Manchester, where he was 
joined by about two hundred Enghsh Jacobites, under the 
command of colonel Townley. Crossing the Mersey at 
Stockport, Charles passed through Macclesfield and Con- 
gleton to Derby ; at which last place a council was held, 
and it was df^termined to return into Scotland. The re- 
treat was effected with all the artillery and military stores, 
in spite of two hostile armies, one under general Wade, 
and the other under sir John Ligonier, stationed to 



GEORGE II» 41 J 

intercept the rebels : but the most remarkable circum- 
stance in this expedition was the great moderation and 
forbearance which the Pretender's army exercised, in a 
country abounding with plunder. No violence or outrage 
was committed, notwithstanding the extremities to which 
they must have been reduced. 

The duke of Cumberland, being now invested with the 
chief command, set out for the north, and overtook the 
rear of the rebels at the village of Chfton, in the vicinity 
of Penrith, where a skirmish took place. Carlisle, which 
the Pretender garrisoned, submitted to the duke in a few 
days. Charles, however, after levying heavy contribu- 
tions on Glasgow, which had displayed its attachment 
to the government, proceeded to invest the castle of Stir- 
ling. General Hawley, commander of the king's forces in 
that quarter, marched to Falkirk, with the intention of 
bringing the rebels to an action. The latter, how- ^ ^ 
ever, began the attack on the 1 7th of January ; and . „aq 
their first volley threw the royal forces into disorder. 
The rebels following up their blow, the royal army aban- 
doned Falkirk, and retired in confusion to Edinburgh, 
leaving part of the tents and artillery in the hands of the 
enemy. 

The duke of Cumberland having put himself at the head 
of the troops in Edinburgh, advanced to Aberdeen, the 
rebels fleeing all the way before him ; and after crossing 
the deep and rapid river Spey without opposition, he was 
at length informed, that the enemy were encamped on the 
plains of CuUoden, about nine miles from the royal army. 
On the 16th of April, the duke of Cumberland left Nairn 
early in the morning, and, after a march of nine miles, 
perceived the enemy drawn up in order of battle, to the 
number of four thousand men. The royal army, which 
was much more numerous, was immediately formed into 
three lines. 

The action commenced about one o'clock in the after- 
noon. The artillery of the rebels was badly served, and 
did little execution ; but that of the king's troops made a 
dreadful havoc among the enemy. Impatient of this fire, 
about five hundred of the clans charged the duke's left 
wing with their usual impetuosity ; and one regiment was 



/il2 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

thrown into disorder by the attack of this body ; but two 
battalions advancing from the second line, supported the 
first, and galled the enemy by a close and terrible dis- 
charge. At the same time, the dragoons under Hawley, 
and the Argyleshire militia, pulling down a park wall, 
which guarded the flank of the rebels, fell upon them, and 
made a horrible slaughter. In less than half an hour, 
they were totally routed, and the field covered with the 
slain. 

Thus, in one short hour, all the hopes and ambition of 
the Pretender sunk together, and instead of thrones and 
sceptres, he saw himself a miserable outcast. To the 
eternal disgrace of the conquerors, they spread terror 
wherever they came ; the whole surrounding country was 
one sad scene of slaughter, desolation and plunder ; and, 
in a few days, there was neither man nor house to be seen 
within the circuit of fifty miles ! The unfortunate Charles 
was now chased by armed troops from hill to dale, from 
rock to cavern, and from mountain to mountain. At 
length, after many escapes and distresses, he found means 
to embark on board a small vessel, which conveyed him in 
safety to Morlaix, in Bretagne. 

Punishment now awaited those who had escaped death 
in the field of battle. Seventeen rebel officers were exe- 
cuted at Kennington Common, near London. Lords Kil- 
marnock, Balmerino, and Lovat, suffered decapitation on 
Tower-hill, as did also Mr. Ratcliffe, the titular earl of 
Derwentwater, on his former sentence in 1716. 

The French had fitted out two squadrons at Brest, one 
to make a descent on the British colonies in America, the 
other to assist the operations of their arms in the East 
Indies. These squadrons, however, were intercepted and 
attacked by admirals Anson and Warren, and nine ships 
were taken, on board of which was found a great quantity 
of Bullion, which 'A^as landed at Spithead, and conveyed 
in twenty wagons through the streets of London to the 
bank. Soon after, admiral Hawke defeated a 
,^' French fleet, and took seven ships of the line and 
several frigates ; and, in the course of this year, 
the British cruisers were very successful in capturing the 
vessels of the enemy. 



A. 

1747. 



GKORGE II. 413 

At the close of the session of parliament, the king in- 
formed both houses, that the preliminaries for a 
general peace had been actually signed at Aix-la- -.^in 
Chapelle, by the ministers of Great Britain, France, 
and the United Provinces, on the basis of a general resti- 
tution of conquests. 

By the treaty of Aix-Ia-Chapelle, in which the earl of 
Sandwich and sir Thomas Robinson were the British plen- 
ipotentiaries, it was stipulated, that the dutchies of Parma, 
Placentia, and Guastalla, should be ceded to Don Philip, 
heir-apparent to the Spanish throne, and his heirs ; but, 
in case of his succeeding to the crown of Spain, that then 
these dominions should revert to the house of Austria ; 
that the fortifications of Dunkirk to the sea should be de- 
molished : that the king of Prussia should be secured in 
his possession of Silesia, which he had conquered : and 
that the queen of Hungary should be guarantied- in her 
hereditary dominions. No mention was made of the right 
of the English to sail in the American seas without being 
subject to a search, though this claim was the original 
cause of the difference between Great Britain and Spain. 
In short, it would be difficult to point out one advantage 
which this country gained by a war that had cost so many 
millions of money. 

As several nations on the continent had reformed their 
calendar according to the computation of Pope Gregory the 
Thirteenth, and much confusion in mercantile transactions 
had arisen, the parliament decreed, tJiat the new year 
should begin on the first day of January, and that 
eleven intermediate nominal days, between the -.^r^ 
second and fourteenth of September, should this 
year be omitted, so that the day succeeding the second 
should be denominated and accounted the fourteenth. 

As soon as the French had recovered a little from the 
effects of the late war, tkey began to erect forts on* the 
back of the British settlements in North America, and 
they also attempted to seize Nova-Scotia. The English 
government receiving only evasive answers from the court 
of France, on the subject of the encroachments in Ame- 
rica, ordered the gov^nors of that country to expel the 
French by force from their settlements on the river Ohio. 
In consequence, colonel Washington, who afterwards 



414 HISTORY OF ENGLAIslJ. 

made himself so famous in the cause of American inde- 
pendence, was despatched from Virginia with four hun- 
dred men, and occupying a post on the banks of the Ohio, 
was attacked by the French, v/ho compelled him to sur- 
render the fort. It was now evident, that war was inevi- 
table. France continued to send re-enforcements of men, 
and supphes of ammunition, to Quebec, for the pur- 
pose of prosecuting her ambitious projects ; and the 
ministry of Great Britain exhorted the governors of the 
provinces in North America to repel the incursions of the 
enemy. 

Admiral Boscawen being sent with a squadron of ships t© 
protect the province of Nova-Scotia, captured two French 
vessels, the Alcide and the Lys, About the same time, 
general Braddock, who had been sent to Virginia, took 
upon hini the command of the forces destined to 
- * ' act against the French on the Ohio ; and, on the 
9th of July, while advancing without proper cau- 
tion, he was suddenly attacked by a general fire; both in 
front and flank, from an invisible enemy, concealed be- 
hind the trees and bushes. The van-guard immediately 
fell back, and horror and confusion seized the ranks. The 
general himself was killed by a musket-shot ; and the few 
remaining soldiers instantly fled, and left their baggage and 
ammunition in the hands of the enemy. 

Sir William Johnson, who had been appointed to the 
command of an expedition against Crown Point, being 
attacked by the French and Indians near Oswego, on the 
south-east side of the lake Ontario, defeated the enemy 
with great loss, but was unable to proceed on the ulterior 
object of bis orders. 

In this year happened a terrible catastrophe, which uni- 
ted all parties in one common sentiment of humanity. On 
the 1st of November, an earthquake destroyed the greatest 
part of the city of Lisbon, with an immense number of its 
inhabitants, while the survivors, destitute of the necessa- 
ries of life, were exposed to misery and famine. On this 
occasion, the parliament of Great Britain generously voted 
one hundred thousand pounds for the distressed Portu- 
guese. 

The next year, a treaty between his Britannic majesty 
and the king of Prussia was signed, by which they mutu- 



GEORGE II. 41.^ 

*lly engaged not to suffer any foreign troops to 
enter Germany. On the other hand, the queen of ^1^^ 
Hungary, though she owed every thing to Great 
Britain, concluded a treaty of mutual guarantee and sup- 
port with France ; and she refused to his Britannic majesty 
the auxiliaries that she had agreed to furnish, on account 
of her dangerous neighbour the king of Prussia. 

Mr. Pitt, and Mr. Legge, the most popular members of 
administration, disapproving of the political measures 
which had been adopted, as ruinous and absurd, were dis- 
missed from office ; and the seals were soon after trans- 
ferred from sir Thomas Robinson to Mr. Fox, whose abili 
ties were universally acknowledged. 

The French equipped a formidable squadron of ships at 
Brest, and assembling a number of land-forces and trans- 
ports, threatened England with an invasion. To meet the 
attack, several thousand of foreign mercenaries were call 
ed upon to assist the country, on the presumption that the 
menaces of France would be carried into eftect ; but, un- 
der the pretence of an invading armament, the French pre- 
pared an expedition, whi«^ \ too well succeeded. 

A formidable fleet sailer from Toulon with forces to in- 
vade Minorca ; and when admiral Byng, who had been 
sent out too late, arrived at Gibraltar, he found that the 
enemy had landed, and were besieging Fort St. Philip, 
which was defended by general Blakeney. The admiral 
being re-enforced by a detachment from the garrison at 
Gibraltar, proceeded to Minoica, and perceived the Bri- 
tish colours still flying at the castle of St. Philip. How- 
ever, before a landing could be effected, the French fleet, 
under La Galissoniere, appeared ; but though an engage- 
ment ensued, both commanders seemed averse to the'con- 
tinuance of the battle ; and the French admiral, taking 
advantage of Byng's hesitation, sailed away. 

In a council of war, which was held immediately after 
this indecisive engagement, it was unanimously agreed, that 
it was impracticable to relieve the castle of St. Philip, and 
that it would be advisable to return to Gribraltar, which 
might require immediate protection. General Blakeney 
receiving no assistance, at length capitulated on honour 
able terms. 

The ministry, irritated against admiral Byng, who had 

36 



41^ HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

complained that the English fleet had been too long de- 
layed, and that the ships under his command were unfit 
for service, took no steps to lessen the odium which popu- 
lar prejudice attached to him ; on the contrary, they were 
pleased to find the blame transferred from themselves, and 
that the admiral's imputed misconduct exonerated them 
from censure. 

The unfortunate admiral was brought to trial, and the 
court determined, that during the engagement oflP 
- ' * Minorca, he did not use his utmost endeavours to 
* take, seize, and destroy, the ships of the French 
king, nor exert his utmost power for the relief of the cas- 
tle of St. Philip ; and, that the punishment attached to 
this sentence v^as death ; but, as they believed that his 
misconduct arose neither from cowardice nor disaffection, 
they earnestly recommended him to mercy. 

All the friends and relations of the unhappy man exerted 
their influence to obtain a remission of his sentence, which 
popular clamour alone had extorted from his judges ; but, 
the sovereign was told, that the death of Byng was neces- 
sary, to appease the fury of the people ; and, in spite of 
every application, a warrant was signed for his execution. 
Thus abandoned to his fate, the unfortunate admiral was 
not wanting to himself on this trying occasion. Conscious 
of the uprightness of his intentions, he advanced to the 
quarter-deck with a firm and deliberate step, and throw- 
ing down his hat, kneeled on a cushion, tied one handker- 
chief over his eyes, and dropped another as a signal to his 
executioners, when five balls passed through his body, and 
he fell dead without a struggle. 

Notwithstanding this sacrifice, the clamours against the 
administration continued to increase ; and the ministry 
found it necessary to admit into a participation of oflSce Mr. 
Pitt and Mr. Legge, who were alike distinguished for their 
spirit and integrity ; but adverse as these two patriots were 
to his majesty's scheme of continental politics, they could 
not agree with their colleagues, and were dismissed from 
their situations. Addresses, however, poured in from all 
parts, in favour of the discarded minister ; and the king 
thought proper to reinstate Mr. Pitt in his former situation 
of secretary of state, and Mr. Legge in the office of chan- 
cellor of the exchequer. 



GEORGE 0. '4X7 

Public affairs were adverse at the commencement of this 
administration. An unsuccessful attempt was made against 
Rochefort ; but what was infinitely more disastrous, the 
duke of Cumberland, unable to contend with the great 
military talents of marshal d'Etrees, was obliged to capit- 
ulate at Closter Seven, by which Hanover was left in the 
hands of the French, and an army of thirty-eight thou- 
sand Hanoverians were disarmed and disbanded. This 
inglorious convention seems to have been the crisis of the 
war, which, under the guidance of other ministers, produ- 
ced the most splendid events. 

In America, after the return of lord Loudon to England, 
the chief command devolved on major general Abercrom- 
bie. On the 27th of July, Louisburg and Cape Breton 
surrendered to the British under major-general 
Amherst ; and Fori du Quesne, which the French j^rp 
had evacuated, was garrisoned under the name of 
Pittsburgh, in compliment to the minister. The English 
also concluded a treaty with the Indian nations inhabiting 
the country between the Apalachian mountains and the 
lakes ; and such was the spirit of enterprise which now an- 
imated the cabinet, that the conquest of Canada was pro- 
jected as the business of a single campaign. 

To accomplish this important object, major general 
Wolfe, who had already distinguished himself by his mili- 
tary talents, was directed to undertake the siege of Que- 
bec, while general Amherst, after reducing Ticonderoga 
and Crown Point, was to cross the lake Champlain, and 
join Wolfe under the walls of the capital of Canada. 

The British forces under general Wolfe arrived in the 
river of St. Lawrence, and encamped near the falls of the 
Montmorenci. M. de Montcalm, the French commander, 
though his troops were superior in number to the invaders, 
had taken every precaution of defence, which the nature 
of the country afforded. The city of Quebec was tolera- 
bly fortified ; and Montcalm, having re-enforced the troops 
of the colony, with this army occupied an advantageous 
situation from the river St. Charles to the falls of the 
Montmorenci. 

On the last day of July, the British general made dis- 
position for an assault, under cover of the fire from the 
ships in the river ; but the English grenadiers, impetuous- 
ly attacking the enemy's entrenchments in disorder, were 
repulsed with great loss, and Wolfe was obliged to retreat: 



418 HISTORY dp ENGLAND, 

This mortifying check preyed on the spirits of the gai- 
lant Wolfe who could not brook the most distant prospect 
of censure or disgrace, and who declared that he would 
rather die than fail of ultimate success. At length, a new 
plan of operations was concerted for landing the troops in 
the night within a league of Cape Diamond, in hopes of 
ascending the heights of Abraham, which rise abruptly 
with a steep ascent from the banks of the river, that they 
might gain possession of the grounds on the back of the 
city, where it was but slightly fortified. 

This plan was put in execution ; and the troops were 
disembarked during the night, with secrecy and silence ; 
but the precipice still remained to be ascended. With 
infinite labour and difficulty, the troops reached the sura- 
mit of the heights of Abraham, and the general drew 
them up in order of battle as they arrived. When M. de- 
Montcalm understood that the English had gained these 
heights, he found himself under the necessity of risking 
an engagement, in order to save the town, and accordingly 
advanced his men with great intrepidity. A furious con- 
test ensued, and general Wolfe, who stood in the front of 
the line, early received a shot in the wrist, to which he 
paid little regard ; but, advancing at the head of the gren- 
adiers, another ball pierced his breast, and compelled him 
to quit the scene of action. As he reclined on the arm of 
an officer, he was roused by the exclamation, " They run ! 
They run!" — "Who run?" said the brave Wolfe, with 
great eagerness. " The French," replied the officer. 
•'Then," said he, " I die contented ;" and almost immedi- 
ately expired in the arms of victory. 

The French general, M. de Montcalm, was also mor- 
tally wounded in the battle, and died soon after ; but the 
advantage remained wholly on the side of the English. 
Quebec was obliged to surrender, and at length the con- 
quest of all Canada was completed, by the capture of 
Montreal under general Amherst. 

Success indeed attended the British arms in every quar- 
ter of the globe. Fort Louis and the isle of Goree, in 
Africa, submitted to the British ; as did also Guadaloupe, 
in the West-Indies. Cherburg was taken by commodore 
Howe, and Havre de Grace bombarded by admiral Rodney. 

In the Mediterranean, M. de la Clue was defeated by 
admiral Boscawen, who took four of his ships ; and ano» 



GEORGE II. 415 

ther fleet under M. de Conflans was attacked off Quibe- 
ronbayby sir Edward Hawke, when a furious battle endu- 
ed, and night alone saved the French from total ^ ^ 
destruction. In this last engagement, two of the ^^^g 
enemy's best ships were sunk, one struck her col- 
ours, two were stranded and destroyed, and the Soleil Roy- 
al, the flag-ship of the French admiral, was burnt by her 
own crew, to prevent her from falhng into the hands of" 
the English. 

In Germany the war was carried on with great vigour, 
and the glory of the British arms raised to the highest 
pitch ; and though the empress of Russia had acceded 
to the alliance concluded between the courts of Versailles 
and Vienna, the king of Prussia, aided by his Britannic 
majesty, continued to make head against the numerous ar- 
mies of those powers. 

Such was the general posture of affairs, when George 
II. died, on the 25th day of October, in the 77th 
year of his age, and the 34th year of his reign. He 1 ' ^ ' 
was at his palace of Kensington ; and laving risen at 
his usual hour, he observed to his attendants, that as the 
weather was fine, he would walk out. In a few minutes 
after, being left alone, he was heard to fall ; and, being 
lifted on the bed, he desired, in a faint voice, that the prin- 
cess Amelia might be called ; but before she could arrive, 
he expired. 

George the Second was in his person rather below the 
middle size. In his disposition he is said to have been 
prone to anger, yet soon appeased ; in other respects, he 
was mild and humane. He was personally brave, and fond 
of war as a soldier. Though his foreign politics cannot be 
commended, his internal government deserves unqualified 
praise. 

In this reign, the liopes of the Stuart party and family 
being baflled, and the legitimacy of the Guelphs generally 
recognised, the constitutional government, as adjusted at 
the Revolution, began to display its excellencies and 
faults, and to acquire its full force. 

Parliaments were regularly convened, for the despatch 
of all business connected with the improvement of the 
laws, and the regulation of the revenue ; and the preroga- 
tives of the sovereign, and the rights of the legi?lU- 
ture, were duly recognised and balanced. 

36* 



4fO HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

The king chose his ministers, and these were amenable 
to parliament ; while the latter was kept in good humour 
by the influence and patronage of the ministers. The of- 
fice of prime-minister began now to distinguish our coun- 
cils. The first who merited the name was sir Robert Wal- 
pole, a favourite confidential minister of George the First 
and Second ; and the nation, under him and his succes- 
sors, presented the spectacle of a sovereign contented 
with the splendour of his crown, and with the manifesta- 
tion of his power, under the advice and responsibility of 
his ministers ; of a parliament whose majorities were gov- 
erned by the influence of the minister, and the modera- 
tion and plausibility of his measures ; and of a people 
obedient to the laws, the operation of which they had the 
power of controlling by juries formed from their own body. 

Such a state of society continued through an entire ge- 
neration, begat confidence at home and respect abroad. 
The public securities rose in value, commerce increased, 
domestic improvements were made, and the capabilities of 
the nation in arts, arms, and industry, began to develop 
themselves, and prepare the way for the more decisive 
events of the succeeding reign. 



CONTINUATION, 

FROM 

THE ACCESSION OF GEORGE III. 

TO THE 

CORONATION OF GEORGE IV. 



CHAP. XXIII. 

The Reign of George III. 

On the decease of George II., the eldest son of Fre- 
deric, prince of Wales, succeeded his grandfather, 
under the most favourable auspices ; as the third ^ii^(^ 
of his name and family. 

This young and native sovereign, whose character and 
affability of deportment rendered him the object of esteem, 
was greeted by the enthusiasm of the people. " Born and 
educated in this country," said his majesty, in his first 
speech to parhament, " i glory in the name of Briton." 

The parhament, with the general approbation, voted 
the clear yearly sum of 800,000/. for the maintenance of 
his majesty's household and the support of the royal digni- 
ty, in lieu of the civil-list revenues, which had been former- 
ly appropriated for the sovereigns of this country. This 
was followed by a wise and liberal regulation, by which the 
judges were rendered independent of the crown, and which, 
as it passed on the recommendation of the king, justly 
gained his majesty universal applause. 

The war, however, was prosecuted with unabated vigour. 
The island of Belleisle surrendered to commodore Keppel 
and general Hodgson. In the East Indies, the French 
were divested of all their possessions of importance ; and 
Pondicherry, their capital settlement, was reduced by 
colonel Coote and admiral Stevens. In the West Indies, 
Martinico, and some other islands, were added to the list 
of British conquests. 

During these transactions, Mr. Pitt, with that sagacit\^ 
"and intuitive foresight which characterize an able statesman^ 



42^ HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

anticipating the hostile designs of Spain, proposed an im^ 
mediate declaration of war against that kingdom ; but 
this measure being opposed by his colleagues in office, and 
finding that the earl of Bute, who had been governor to 
his majesty, had acquired an ascendancy in the royal 
favour, he disdained to act a subordinate part, resigned 
the seals, and retired with a pension and a peerage for his 
lady. 

Lord Bute, who had been previously appointed one of 
the principal secretaries of state, was now supposed to in- 
fluence the decisions of government ; but, before the end 
of the year, the ministry found it necessary to adopt the 
measure recommended by Mr. Pitt, and to declare war 
against Spain. Havannah, Manilla, and all the Philippine 
islands, became, in consequence, the reward of British va- 
lour. 

Amidst these successes, however, the restoration of peace 
was equally desired by the victors and the vanquished ; 
and after some time had been spent in negotiation, a defi- 
nitive treaty was signed at Paris on the 10th of 
t7fiS February, and peace solemnly proclaimed in Lon- 
* don, on the 22d of the following month. By this 
treaty. Great Britain obtained the extensive province of 
Canada, East Florida, West Florida, the Grenadas in the 
West Indies, and some inferior acquisitions ; but restored 
all the other conquests made during the war. These terms 
^ere considered in England as degrading to the nation ; 
and clamours were raised against the administration of lord 
Bute, who had never been a favourite with the people. 

About this time too, the daring spirit of John Wilkes^ 
Esq., who sat in parliament for Aylesbury, contributed to 
hasten the downfall of the premier. This man published 
a paper called " The North Briton," in which he attacked 
the minister with great asperity, and indulged in the gross- 
est scurrility against the whole Scottish nation. Churchill, 
ihe poet, employed his satirical powers in the same cause ; 
and the ferment excited by these two able, but profligate 
characters, was so great, that the earl of Bute thought 
proper to resign his office of first lord of the treasury, m 
%^hich he was succeeded by Mr. George Grenville. 

One of the first acts of the new minister was the prose- 
cution of Mr. Wilkes, who, in the North Briton, No. 45^ 
had asserted, that his majesty's speech, which he aff'ected 
t© coHSider as the minister's, contained a falsehood, la 



(iEOftGE iif. 423 

consequence of this violation of all decorum, Mr. Wilkes 
was apprehended by virtue of a general warrant, his papers 
were seized, and he was committed to the Tower. In the 
court of common pleas, however, Mr. Wilkes was acquit- 
ted of the charge exhibited against him ; and, lord chief 
justice Pratt declared, that general warrants were illegal. 

Mr. Grenville possessed integrity and abilities, but he 
wanted a sound discriminating judgment. In order to 
raise a revenue from the American colonies, he projected 
a stamp-act, which, being resisted by the Americans, was 
afterwards repealed ; but the attempt and its failure laid 
the foundation for that fatal contest, which at length ter- 
minated in the independence of the American colonies. 

The name of the princess of Wales having been 
omitted in the bill for appointing a regency, in con- |«g-' 
sequence of his majesty's illness, the king, after re- 
covering from his indisposition, determined to change his 
ministers ; and the marquis of Rockingham was placed at 
the head of a new admmistration. The highly respecta- 
ble character of the marquis, however, could not secure 
the new ministers a continuance in office. Possessing a 
great share of moderation in principles, their opponents 
effectually made head against them ; and the duke of Graf- 
ton became first lord of the treasury ; while Mr. Pitt, who 
was now raised to the dignity of earl of Chatham, accepted 
the office of privy-seal. 

Mr. Charles Townshend, the chancellor of the 

• A D 

exchequer, who possessed eminent talents for tuisi- ^^of^ 
ness, but too much versatility of disposition, unhap- 
pily revived the design of taxmg America, though taxa- 
tion and representation cannot constitutionally be sepa- 
rated ; and while the earl of Chatham was confined by 
extreme illness, he brought in a bill for imposing a duty 
on tea, and some other articles imported into the colonies. 
Against this design, the Americans formed a general com- 
bination foT not receiving any of the commodities thus 
taxed, from the mother country ; and, the acts were 
again repealed, except as far as related to the duties on 
tea. This concession, however, gave little satisfaction to 
the Americans, who considered the late acts as unconsti- 
tutional, and proposed a general union of the colonies for 
defending their natural rights. 

Meanwhile Mr. Townshend died, and his place of 



424 Hl&TO&V 0^ teNGLAlSp, 

eliancelloi' of the exchequer was filled by Idird North. 
Some other changes also took place ; and the earl of Chat- 
ham, who had long been treated with disregard, either oil 
account of his infirmities, or his uncomplying disposition^ 
resigned his office of privy-seal, and from this time lived 
Unconnected with the affairs of government, though he 
frequently took an active part in the interesting debates 
which agitated this period. 

The discontents which had been produced in 
- 1«,J America by the insidious, not to say unjust designs 
of the ministry, were about to break out into a 
flame, that spread into a general conflagration. Laws hav- 
ing been passed for quartering troops in the colonies, and 
for rendering the governors of the different provinces solely 
dependant on the crown, the Americans, in order to show 
their aversion to the measures of the British government, 
and their determination to resist, destroyed a large quanti- 
ty of tea at Boston, and obliged ships laden with the same 
commodity to return from other places without landing 
their cargoes. In consequence of these proceedings, acts 
were passed for shutting up the port of Boston, and for 
altering the constitution ot Massachusetts Bay and Quebec, 

This violent stretch of power excited the utmost indig- 
nation in America ; and the colonies entered into a solemn 
league and covenant to suspend all commercial intercourse 
with Great Britain, till the obnoxious acts were repealed. 
Meanwhile, measures were adopted for holding a general 
congress of the American colonies ; and a bold and spirit- 
ed remonstrance, soliciting a redress of grievances, was 
addressed to the king. All remonstrances and petitions, 
however, being equally disregarded, and every avenue to 
accommodation, except by implicit submission, shut up, 
the Americans determined to have recourse t© arms, as 
the only means left for defending their unalienable rights* 

On the 19th of April, general Gage, commander in 

chief, having been informed that the Americans had 

^-,„ ' collected military stores at Concord, sent a detach- 

* ment to seize them. The detachment was attacked 

at Lexington, and many were killed on both sides ; but 

the loss on the side of the British far exceeded that of 

their opponents. 

The torch of civil war being thus lighted up, the colonists 
flew to arms as if by concert, and assumed the title of *• the 



tfEORGE llf, 425 

United States of America," whose aifairs were to be ma^ 
naged by a congress. This body of representatives in- 
^antly passed resolutions for raising an army, for issuing 
a paper currency for its payment, and for prohibiting all 
importations to those places which still remained faithful 
in their allegiance to the crown of Great Britain. 

A few weeks after this engagement, the British army iA 
America was strengthened by a large re-enforcement, which 
arrived from England, under the command of generals 
Howe, Burgoyne, and Clinton. Martial-law was no^v 
proclaimed ; but the congress was not easily intimidated ; 
and voting that the compact between the crown and the 
inhabitants of Massachusetts Bay, was dissolved, they re- 
commended that province to resume its chartered rights. 

As further hostilities were now mutually expected, the 
Americans, that they might secure Charlestown, sent a 
detachment of men at night to erect some considerable 
works on Bunker's Hill. When these operations were 
discovered in the morning, a heavy fire commenced from 
the ships ; and the Americans were with difficulty driven 
from their entrenchments by generals Howe and Pigot, 
In this action, which was very severe, the loss of the Bri- 
tish in killed and wounded amounted nearly to half 
their number, and included many officers. After irji^K ' 
this affair, the colonists threw up works on another 
hill opposite ; and the British troops were closely invested 
in the peninsula. 

The general congress published a very animated decla- 
ration, in which their reasons for taking up arms were as- 
signed, and the objects for which they contended were dis- 
tinctly pointed out. They also appointed George Wash- 
ington general and commander in chief of the American 
forces. This gentleman had acquired some experience in 
the last war, when he commanded different bodies of pro- 
vincials ; and his conduct and military skill fully justified 
the partiality of his countrymen. Another petition to the 
king was also voted by congress, in which they earnestly 
beseeched his majesty to adopt some method of putting a 
stop to the unhappy contest between Great Britain and 
the colonies ; but this petition, though presented by Mr. 
Penn, late governor, and one of the proprietors of Penn- 
sylvania, did not obtain an answer. 



426 mSTORV OF ENGLAI^D. 

In the mean time, the Americans, prepared for every 
^vent, and animated with the enthusiasm of a people con- 
tending for liberty, no longer confined themselves to de- 
fensive operations. Ticonderoga and Crown Point had 
already been taken by a party of Americans ; and it was 
determined to fit out an expedition against Canada, under 
generals Montgomery and Arnold ; but in an attempt against 
Quebec, Montgomery fell, and Arnold, after being danger- 
ously wounded, was compelled to make a precipitate retreat. 

The state of the royal army at Boston had now become 

deplorable. By a masterly stroke, Washington compelled 

the British to abandon the town ; and all the English 

troops, with such loyalists as chose to accompany 

jl„g them, were precipitately embarked and conveyed 

* to Halifax. Next day, general Washington entered 

Boston in triumph. 

Soon after, congress, in a solemn declaration, withdrew 
all allegiance from the king of Great Britain, and assumed 
for the colonies the style and character of " Free and In- 
dependent States." They also pubhshed articles of con- 
federation and perpetual union between the provinces ; 
while in proportion as the prospect of bringing them to 
submission was lessened, the arrogance and infatuation of 
the British ministry, at the head of whom was lord North, 
seemed to increase. 

An unsuccessful attempt was made upon Charlestown, 
in which the English suffered severely ; but about the same 
time, general Howe obtained possession of New York ; 
and general Clirton and sir Peter Parker took Rhode- 
Jsland. General Howe, and his brother, admiral lord 
Howe, were regarded with partiality by the Americans ; 
and some overtures of reconciliation were made by the 
two brothers ; but the manifesto which they published, 
offered only pardon to the colonists, and produced no be- 
neficial purpose. 

The ill success of the Aji^ericans, however, was pro- 
ductive of those internal effects which operate as strongly 
as external force ; and at this period, if terms of conces- 
sion had been offered by Great Britain, the constitutional 
supremacy of the mother country might probably have 
been acknowledged ; but the time of conciliation was neg- 
lected, and the infatuation of ministers prevailed. 



GEORGE HI. 42; 

In the next campaign, the Americans were defeated by 
^neral Howe in the battle of Brandywine ; and the Eng= 
lish entered Philadelphia in triumph. On the oth- 
er hand, general Burgoyne, who had set out from ^1°' 
Qebec with an army of ten thousand men, in order 
to form a line of communication between New- York and 
Canada, after driving the Americans before him for some 
lime, was at last surrounded at Saratoga by general Gates 
and obliged to lay down his arms. 

The success of the Americans now determined the 
court of France to declare in favour of the new re- 
repubhc ; and so gloomy was the prospect of Great ^' ^' 
Britain, that ministers sent commissioners to Amer- ^ ^^^' 
ica to treat of peace ; but this attempt at conciliation wa- 
of no essential service. 

Hostilities commenced with France, by a naval engaae 
ment between admiral Kepple and count d'Orvilliers j anO 
victory would have been decisive in favour of the British 
li sir Hugh Palliser had obeyed the signals of the admi- 
ral. 13oth officers were tried before a court-martial Pa'- 
hser, though found guilty, was only slightly censured': 
while admiral Kepple was honourably acquitted 

Meanwhile Pondicherry in the East, and the island oi 
fet. Lucia in the West-Indies, were captured by the Eng^ 
ish ; but Dominica, St. Vincent, and Grenada, were tt 
ken by the French, who assisted the Americans withe 
fleet commanded by the count d'Estaina In at- 
tempting the relief of Grenada, an indecisive en- ^- ^' 
gagement took place between admiral Byron with ^^^^' 
a fleet of twenty-one ships, and the count d'Estaian, who 
had twenty-five or twenty-six ships of the Hne, "beside-^ 
twelve frigates under his command. After this action 
the French admiral, m conjunction with the Americ^iis- 
attempted the reduction of Savannah, but was frustrated 
by general Prevost In Europe, the French made a de 
scent with a considerable force on Jersey, but were re 
pulsed by the promptitude of major Pearson, the Endish 
commandant, who fell in the moment of victory, at the 
head of his small corps. ' 

Before the close of this session, his majesty announced 

o parliament that Spain had joined the ilUance aS 

England ; and this new enemy joined the French vWth 



428 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

thirty ships of the line, the combined fleets of those two 
neighbouring powers for some time rode triumphant in the 
British channel, and menaced the English coast with im- 
punity. Spain also took New-Orleans on the Mississippi? 
and closely invested Gibraltar. 

Admiral sir George Rodney, being appointed to the 

chief naval command in the West-Indies, obtained 

-lorv' a complete victory over a Spanish fleet of eleven 

* sail off Cape St. Vincent ; and after relieving Gib-r 

valtar, he proceeded to execute his ulterior orders, and had 

three indecisive engagements with the French fleet in the 

West-Indies. 

In June, the same year, happened one of the most 
dreadful riots in London which history records. It arose 
from the fanaticism of an association of protestant secta- 
ries, who fancied that religion was in danger, on account 
of some just and equitable indulgences which the legisla- 
ture had recently granted to the Roman catholics. A mob, 
collected by a procession of this association, pulled down 
or burnt several popish chapels, broke open many of the 
prisons, and liberated both felons and debtors. In a few 
days, however, the riots were quelled, and lord George 
Gordon, the president of the association, was committed 
to the Tower. 

From the agitations of war and faction, we turn with 
pleasure to the progress made by science and the arts, 
under the munificent patronage of George the Third. By- 
ron, who was commissioned in 1764 to explore the Atlan- 
tic and Pacific oceans, and circumnavigate the globe, cor- 
rected by his observations the errors of former charts, 
and discovered several islands in the South Pacific. A 
few years after, captain WaUis sailed on a similar expedi- 
tion, and, on the 19th of June, 1767, perpetuated his 
jaame by the discovery of Otaheite, (or King George's 
Island,) in the South Pacific, and of other islands in the 
same ocean. Carteret also traversed the Pacific, and cir- 
cumnavigated the globe. Each of these navigators con- 
tributed an accession of geographical knowledge. 

To Captain James Cook, however, more than to any 
other individual since the time of Columbus, we are in- 
debted for extending the boundaries of geographical sci- 
ence. In his first voyage to the Pacific ocean, in 1770, 



GEORGE in. ■ 429 

he discovered the Society Islands, determined the insul?,- 
rity of New Zealand, and explored the eastern coast of 
New-Holland. In his second voyage, in 1773, he disco- 
vered New Caledonia, the island of Georgia, and an un- 
known coast, which he named Sandwich Land. In 1776, 
another voyage of discovery being proposed by the govern- 
ment, the Resolution and Discovery were fitted out for 
that purpose, and captains Cook and Clerke were appoin- 
ted to this expedition. This last voyage was particularly 
distinguished by the extent and importance of its discov- 
eries. Besides several small islands in the South Pacific. 
Cook discovered the group of islands called the Sand- 
wich Islands, explored the western coast of America from 
the latitude of forty-three to seventy degrees north, and 
ascertained the proximity of the two great continents oi 
Asia and America. In September, 1780, the Resolution 
and Discovery returned to England from this voyage round 
the world, but, to the grief of every person who respected 
■worth and talents^ without captain Cook, who had been 
unfortunately killed by the natives of Owhyhee, one of the 
Sandwich Islands which he had discovered. 

This year was also memorable for the armed neutrality 
entered into by the northern powers, for the purpose of re- 
sisting the EnglishHn exercising the right of searching neu- 
tral vessels, on the principle that " free bottoms make free 
goods." It being discovered that the States-General had 
concluded a treaty with the American government, Eng- 
land declared war against Holland. 

The Dutch island of St. Eustatius, and the settlement? 
of Demarara, Berbice, and Issequibo, submitted to the 
British ; and a severe engagement took place between 
admiral sir Hyde Parker and the fleet of Holland off the 
Dogger Bank, but without any decisive issue on either side. 

In America, alternate successes and reverses attended 
the arms of Britain ; but even victory was fatal to Eng- 
land, while defeats were doubly injurious, and rendered 
the colonists certain of a prosperous issue. Indeed, the 
cause of Britain in this contest with her American colonies 
daily declined, and became more desperate. Earl Corn- 
wallis, who had distinguished himself on various oacasions, 
was at length surrounded by general Washington, 
assisted by the marquis de la Fayette, and obliged .Lpi 
to surrender the whole of his forces, amounting to 



430 HISTORir OP ENGLAND. 

seven thousand men, to the combined French and Ameri 
can army, at York Town, in Virginia ; an event whick 
terminated the hopes of the British government in Ameri- 
ca, and ended the war. 

About the same time, St. Eustatius was recovered from 
the English ; and the Spaniards made themselves masters 
of West Florida. The siege of Gibraltar was also carried 
on with vigour ; but the place was very ably defended by 
the heroic governor, general Elliot. 

In the East-Indies, Hyder Ally, the confederate ' of 
France, took Arcot by assault, and cut to pieces, or made 
prisoners of a detachment under colonel Baillie. Sir Eyre 
Coote, however, defeated Hyder in two subsequent en- 
gagements, relieved Vellore, and retrieved the fortune of 
the war in the Carnatic. 

After the surrender of earl Cornwallis to general Wash- 
mgton, the influence of the British ministry was at an end ; 
and a change of measures appearing absolutely necessary, 
a complete revolution in the cabinet took place on 
J ' * the 27th of March, under the auspices of the mar- 
quis of Rockingham, who was appointed first lord 
of the treasury. The earl of Shelburne and Mr. Fox 
were appointed secretaries of state. 

Peace was now ardently desired by all ranks of people 
ill this country ; and the new ministry consented that the 
independence of America should be allowed, and entered 
into measures for effectuating a general treaty of pacifica- 
tion. For this purpose, Mr. Grenville was sent to Paris, 
with full powers to treat with all the belligerant nations, 
and orders were despatched to the commanders in chief in 
America, to acquaint them with the pacific views of the 
British cabinet, and with the offer of independence to the 
United States. 

After the capture of lord Cornwallis and his army, the 
English suffered a series of losses in America. The French 
took Nevis, St. Christopher's and Montserrat ; the Baha- 
ma islands surrendered to the Spaniards ; and Jamaica 
was threatened by the fleets of Spain and France, on board 
of which was an army of twenty thousand men. This for- 
midable armament, however, was prevented from uniting 
by the promptitude and bravery of admiral Rodney, who 
engaged and totally defeated the French under count de 
Orasse, before it could form a junction with the Spanisfe 



GEORGE III. 431 

fleet. The French admiral, in the Ville de Paris of 120 
guns, was taken, with two seventy-four gun ships, and one 
of sixty-four guns. Two other ships of the line were lost 
in the action ; and a few days after, sir Samuel Hood cap- 
tured two more French ships of the line and two frigates. 
This decisive and glorious victory, which was achieved 
on the 12th of April, put a stop to the intended project 
against Jamaica ; and admiral Rodney, in reward for his 
services, was gratified with a peerage and a pension. 

The valour of the British arms was most remarkably dis-' 
played at Gibraltar, where the English, under that brave 
veteran general Elliot, acquired immortal honour, and 
converted one of the most formidable attacks that had ever 
been made in the history of sieges, to the destruc- Sept, 
tion of the assailants, and the frustration of all the 13, 
hopes of the enemy. The enthusiasm and gal- 1782. 
lantry of Elliot and his garrison were emulated by lord 
Howe and the fleet. To the admiration of all Europe, 
that brave admiral, with thirty-four sail of the line, passed 
the straits in the face of a superior enemy, and threw sue* 
cours ^into the fortress. 

This was the last transaction of importance during the 
continuance of the war in Europe ; and thus the military 
career of Britain, after her repeated misfortunes, termi- 
nated with great splendour. AH the belligerant powers 
were now inclined to listen to overtures of pacification. 
The happy prospect, however, of peace and prosperity- 
was obscured for a time by the death of the marquis of 
Rockingham, from whose administration the nation had 
formed great expectations. He was succeeded by the earl 
of Shelburne, and Mr. Fox resigned his office of secretary 
of the northern department. 

The new ministers, however, continued the negotiatioji 
for peace ; and as the independence of America was virtu- 
ally recognised, the war with the colonies had in fact 
terminated. At length, on the 30th of November, 1783^ 
provisional articles between England and America, were 
signed at Paris. By this treaty, the sovereignty and indof 
pendence of the United States were fully acknowledged. 
So great, indeed, were the concessions of ministers oo 
this occasion, that they neglected the interests of the loy- 

37* 



432 HISTORY OF ENGLAND, 

'dlists in America, whose estates had been confiscated, and 
who were thus thrown on the generosity of the British. 

In our treaties with the French, the Dutch, and the 
Spaniards, the same improvident facihty was apparent ; 
and these treaties, when submitted to parUament, 
4700 extorted the severest animadversions. By this ca- 
' lamitous war, Great Britain lost the best part of 
her transatlantic colonies, and, besides many thousands of 
valuable lives, expended or squandered nearly 160 mil- 
lions of money. The address of thanks for the peace 
was carried in the house of lords by a majority of 72 to 
59, but lost in the house of commons by a majority of 
'224 to 208. 

It was now discovered that Mr. Fox, in his animosity to 
the earl of Shelburne, had formed a coalition with his for- 
mer political antagonist, lord North. ^ This unnatural and 
unprincipled coalition, which excited general indignation, 
was defended by Mr. Fox on the strange plea, that the 
question of American independence being now at rest, he 
had no desire to perpetuate his enmity to a statesman 
m^hom he had found honourable as an adversary, and of 
whose openness and sincerity as a friend he had no doubt. 

Their united opposition prevailed, and a change took 
place in the ministry. The duke of Portland was placed 
at the head of the treasury, lord John Cavendish was made 
ehancelior of the exchequer, and lord North and Mr. Fox 
were appointed joint secretaries of state The coalition 
administration became the theme of universal and pas- 
sionate execration ; and when public confidence is once 
lost, it can never be completely regained. 

Mr. Pitt, the son of the immortal earl of Chatham, and 
who afterwards rivalled his father's glory, made a motion 
for a parhamentary reform, and proposed to add one 
hundred members to the counties, and abolish a propor- 
tionable number of the obnoxious boroughs. This plan, 
though certainly the most judicious that has yet been pro- 
posed for the independence of parliamentary representa 
tion, was negatived by a large majority. 

Soon after the meeting of parliament in November, Mr . 
Fox introduced a bill for regulating the affairs of the East- 
Indm, Company, This famous bill proposed to deprive 



GEOReE III* 433 

the directors and proprietors of the entire administration, 
not only of their territorial, but also of their commercial 
affairs, and to vest the management and direction of them 
in seven commissioners named in the bill, and irremo- 
vable by the crown, except in consequence of an address 
of either house of parliament. It passed through the lower 
house by a great majority, but was lost in the upper, 
after very animated debates, in which its unconstitutional 
principles were fully exposed. 

The king, being informed of the nature and tendency of 
this bill, considered himself duped and deceived ; and the 
coalition ministry, which had been deservedly unpopular, 
were suddenly dismissed. Mr. Pitt, then a very young man, 
was declared first lord of the treasury and chancellor of 
the exchequer ; the marquis of Caermarthen, and Mr. 
Thomas Townsend, created lord Sydney, were nominated 
secretaries of state ; and lord Thurlow was appointed to 
the office of lord-chancellor. The intelhgence of this 
change was received by the nation with transports of joy. 

The discarded ministers, however, still maintained their 
influence in the house of commons ; and the singular 
spectacle was exhibited of a minister retaining his situation 
in defiance of the votes of the commons, and of an oppo» 
sition restraining the power of the executive, by prohibiting 
the issuing of payments from the bank or the exchequer, 
for the pubhc service. At length, after strong and re- 
peated contests between the two factions, during ^t 
which the minister found himself frequently in a cfj^ 
minority, the parliament was dissolved by procla- if^' 
mation, and a new one convened. So complete 
was the rout of the coalition party, that of one hundred 
and sixty members who lost their seats at the general elec* 
tion, nearly the whole were the friends either of Mr. Fox 
or lord North. 

The arrangements of a plan for the future government 
of India, was the most important business to which the at- 
tention of the new parhament was first directed. The bill 
which Mr. Pitt introduced for that purpose, was carried 
through the house of commons by a great majority ; and 
in the upper house, though strongly opposed, it passed 
with a few dissenting votes. 

In the next session, Mr. Pitt brought forward his plan 



434 HISTORY OF ENGLAND, 



D. 



for a reform in the representation, varying in some 

measure from his former project, but in every re- 
* spect temperate and judicious. The result of this 
plan was to give one hundred members to the popular in- 
terest, and to extend the elective franchise to more than 
one hundred thousand persons, who, by the existing laws, 
were excluded from voting for members of parliament. 
After a debate of considerable length, in which Mr. Fox 
bestowed on the plan a just and liberal tribute of praise, 
the bill was rejected by a majority of 274 to 174. Mr. Pitt 
was equally unsuccessful in attempting to settle the cora^ 
merce of England and Ireland on a mutual and equitable 
footing. His propositions, which were amended in the 
house of lords, passed in England with difficulty ; but, iu 
the Irish parliament, they were rejected with marked dis- 
approbation. 

Among the various measures agitated by parliament 
during the next session, was a plan for extinguishing 

the national debt. This celebrated plan was 
f»^n founded on a report framed by a select committee j 

who had been appointed to examine the annual in- 
come and expenditure of the state. By this report it ap- 
peared, that the public income for the year 1785 exceeded 
the annual expenditure by 900,000L This surplus the 
minister proposed to increase to "one million, and to appro- 
priate the annual sum of one million to the liquidation of 
the national debt. This annual million Mr. Pitt proposed 
to be vested in the hands of certain commissioners, to be 
by them applied regularly in the purchase of stock. In 
the progress of the bill, Mr. Fox suggested an amend- 
ment, which was gratefully received by the minister — 
that whenever a new loan should in future be made, the 
commissioners should be empowered to accept of the loan, 
or such proportion of it as should be equal to the cash 
then in their hands ; and that the interest and douceur 
annexed to it should be applied to the purposes of the 
sinking-fund. The bill finally passed, with great and de- 
served approbation ; and this measure has been in gene- 
ral pursued under almost every change of circumstances., 
and amidst unexampled difficulties. 

During the following year, the republican party in Hoh 
Tand having obtained an acce^ioa of strength^ and being 



GEORGE III, 435 

.jCiiretly favoured by the court of France, renounced 
the authority of the Stadtholder, under the pretext i^or? 
that he sacrificed the interests of his country to 
predilection for the Enghsh. The active interference, 
however, of the king of Prussia, in defence of the prince 
of Orange, to whom he was nearly related by marriage, 
restored the authority of the Stadtholder, while the digni- 
fied tone and vigorous preparations of the British minister 
intimidated the French from assisting the republicans. 

This year is also remarkable for the impeachment of 
Warren Hastings, Esq,, late governor-general of Bengal. 
The trial of this gentleman continued for seven years, and, 
terminated in his honourable acquittal. The disgraceful 
procrastination of his trial, and the acrimony with which 
it was conducted, led many to compassionate a man, who, 
held up as a great public delinquent, seemed destined to 
lead a life of impeachment, and to have become the object 
of a relentless persecution. If there were errors in the 
conduct of Warreji Hastings, they were more than com- 
pensated by his exertions and moral intentions ; and it 
may safely by affirmed, that in the administration of India, 
he in general deserved praise rather than censure, and 
that his character will be always venerated in this country, 
which was essentially benefited by his services. 

The next session was memorable for the first discussion 
in parliament on the subject of the inhuman traffic 
in slaves. Mr. Wilberforce, who had announced <«oo' 
his intention of moving for the abolition of that 
abominable trade, was unavoidably absent from indisposi- 
tion ; but, at the suggestion of sir Wilham Dolben, some 
regulations were enacted for restraining the cruelties prac- 
tised on board the slave-ships. 

The same year being the centenary of the glorious revO' 
lution of 1688, the 5th of November, the day of king Wil« 
liam's landing, was celebrated by rejoicings in various parts 
of the kingdom. 

Soon after the recess of parliament, the king, who had 
been rather indisposed, was advised to try the mineral 
waters of Cheltenham, where he appeared to recover his 
health ; but on his return to London, late in the summer, 
his illness returned with new and alarming symptoms ; and 
it could no longer be concealed, but that the malady mih 



436 HISTORY OP ENGLANfi* 

■which he was afflicted was a mental derangement, that 
rendered him wholly incapable of public business. 

It now became necessary to appoint a regent to exercise 
the royal functions till the health of his majesty should be 
restored ; and Mr. Fox claimed this high office in the 
name, and on the behalf of the heir-apparent, as apper- 
taining to his royal highness of right. On the other hand, 
Mr. Pitt and his adherents, who formed by far the most 
numerous body, both in and out of parliament, maintained, 
that the heir to the crown was merely a subject ; that it 
was httle short of treason against the constitution to urge 
his right to the regency, and that it belonged entirely to 
the two remaining branches of the legislature to supply the 
temporary deficiency. 

Long and violent debates ensued in parliament, on the 
restraints under which the minister thought it necessary to 
subject the prince of Wales, as regent, in the exercise of 
his authority. At last, the regency bill was about to pass,* 
when, to the unspeakable joy of the nation, as well as of 
every member of his august family, his majesty, 
,^oQ on the 10th of March, sent a message to parlia" 
* ment, to acquaint them with his recovery, and his 
ability to attend to the public business of the kingdom* 
These tidings diffused an universal and heartfelt satisfac- 
tion. Every town, every village, exhibited its testimonies 
of loyalty and affection to the best of sovereigns at the in* 
stant ; and these were renewed on the 23d of April, when 
his majesty, in solemn procession, went to St. Paul's ca- 
thedral, to return thanks to Heaven for his recovery. 

In the month of July in this year, one of the most un- 
expected and extraordinary revolutions took place in 
France that the annals of history record. The deranged 
state of the finances of France, and the mild disposition 
and moderate principles of Louis XVI., the reigning sove* 
reign, inducing him to assemble the notables of his king- 
dom, an opportunity was taken to subvert the monarchy, 
and to reduce the king to a state of degradation, which 
prevented him not only from doing wrong, but from ren- 

* The parliament of Ireland invited the prince of Wales to ac- 
cept the regency without any limitation^ while the British legis' 
Tature imposed many restrictions. 



GEORGE III. 437 

ilering ^ny essential service to the state. The bastile, 
which had long been used for the most despotic purposes, 
was suddenly levelled to the ground, and the prisoners 
liberated ; while a national assembly, chosen by the peo- 
ple, wrested from the king the privilege of making war or 
peace, and abolished all titles of peerage and distinction 
of orders. The frame of government was entirely chan- 
ged, and a limited hereditary monarchy was established, in 
which the legislative authority was rendered superior to 
the executive, the latter being allowed only a suspensive 
vote. The person of the king was declared inviolable, 
and the throne indivisible. 

Some British adventurers having established a settle- 
ment at Nootka or King's Sound,* on the north-west coast 
of America, for the purpose of trading with the natives 
for furs, the Spaniards, who claimed the exclu- 
sive sovereignty of this coast, from Cape Horn to j«qq 
the sixtieth degree of north latitude, seized on the 
fort, and captured such English vessels as were found tra- 
ding in those parts. This conduct produced remonstran- 
ces to the court of Spain ; but the Spaniards being un- 
willing to make any atonement for the act of violence of 
.which they had been guilty, both nations prepared for war. 
The matter, however, was at last settled by a convention, 
by which Spain conceded every point in dispute, though 
the Spanish flag at the fort and settlement of Nootka was 
never struck. 

By an act passed in the next session of parliament, Ca- 
nada was divided into two distinct governments, to each 
of which a legislative council and assembly were appointed, 
after the model of the British constitution. The councils 
were nominated by the sovereign, and the houses of assem- 
bly were chosen by the people. The habeas corpus act be- 
came a fundamental law of the constitution of Canada ; 
and the British parliament were restrained from imposing 
any other taxes than such as were necessary for the regu- 
lation of trade and commerce. This wise and salutary 
measure has been productive of the best effects, and will 
probably secure the dependence of that province on Great 
Britain, by the strong tie of gratitude and interest. 

* First discovered by captain Cook, in his last voyage round 
the world. 



438 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

In the course of this year, England was nearly involved 
in hostilities with Russia. That power, leagued with Aus- 
tria, had for some time carried on a war against the 
Turks. The Germans, however, were very unsuccessful 
in this unjust warfare ; but the Russians defeated the 
Turks in every battle, and took from them several strong 
places, particularly Oczakow and Ismael. At the latter^ 
the Turks made a gallant resistance ; but the savage Su- 
warroff, who commanded the Russians, caused about thirty 
thousand of the inhabitants to be put to death, and thus 
fixed an indelible stain on his character. 

These successes, and the cruelties which accompanied 
them, alarmed the British court, and a large fleet was fit- 
ted out, in order to prevent Russia from obtaining the na- 
vigation of the Black Sea ; but the majorities which the 
minister was able to command in parliament on this occa- 
sion, being very inconsiderable, and the popular voice be- 
ing decidedly against the policy of going to war with Rus- 
sia, the armament was laid aside, after an enormous ex- 
pense had been incurred, and the Porte concluded a peace 
with the czarina on her own terms. In justice, however, 
to administration, it should be observed, that the measures 
which they adopted on this occasion were founded in wis- 
dom and sound policy ; and that, if their designs had not 
been counteracted by the violence of faction in parliament, 
whose sentiments prevailed among the great mass of the 
people, it seems probable the partition of Poland, and 
other encroachments and revolutions which followed, 
might have been prevented c 

The events which had taken place in France had excited 
much interest in this country, and provoked discussions 
which occasioned the supporters of the French revolution 
to be regarded as inimical to the British constitution, while 
the opponents of that measure were considered as the 
faithful guardians and defenders of our excellent estab- 
lishment in church and state. It was, indeed, natural 
that the dawn of liberty in a country long enslaved, 
should be hailed with joy by the generous sympathy of 
Britons, who had long enjoyed the blessings of civil and 
religious liberty ; but it was not to be expected, that the 
anarchy and violence which prevailed in France would 
have been regarded with any other feelings than those of 
detestation and abhorrence, and that the friends of the 



C3tE0KGE III, 439 

British constitution would have evinced their approbation 
Qf principles, which they saw perverted, and applied to 
the most dangerous purposes. 

On the anniversary of the 14th of July, the day on 
which the bastile had been demoHshed. the parti- 
sans of liberty in this country agreed to celebrate .'(.' 
that event by festive meetings in several of the 
principal towns and cities of the kingdom. This was cer- 
tainly an act of indiscretion, as the French revolution had 
incurred great odium by the events which had lately taken 
place in France, and as the spirit of party prevailed in a 
most violent degree at this time in England. In Birming- 
ham, where great animosity had long subsisted between 
the high-church party and the dissenters, at the head oS 
whom was thejustly celebrated philosopher, Dr. Priestley. 
the meeting was attended with the most lamentable con- 
sequences. The persons who there assembled to commem- 
orate the French revolution, were insulted by a furious 
mob, who shouted " church and king," and who broke the 
windows of the hotel in which the company were assem- 
bled. Incited and inflamed by their leaders, the mob dis- 
persed over the town and its vicinity, set on fire the meet- 
ing-houses, and the dwellings of the most eminent dissen- 
ters, and giving a loose to every kind of intemperaiic:;, 
became equally formidable to both parties. The mansion 
of Dr. Priestly was consumed, with his valuable library 
and philosophical apparatus ; and thus a man, whose tal- 
ents would have been an honour to any country, was trea^ 
ed by these Vandals as a foe to the human race, and ulti- 
mately obliged to take shelter in America. No efFectuai 
effort was employed to check these infamous and disgrace- 
ful proceedings, till the arrival of some troops of dra- 
goons from Nottingham, when, after four days of tumult 
and devastation, order and tranquillity were restored. 
Many of the rioters were brought to trial, and three of 
them capitally punished. 

In the East Indies, earl Cornwallis, who had been ap- 
pointed governor-general of Bengal, carried on with equal 
conduct and good fortune the war against Tippoo Saib, in 
which this country had been involved by the intrigues of 
the French. After overcoming all impediments, he formed 
the siege of Seringapatam, the capital of Mvsore, and 

38 



440 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

dbliged Tippoo to conclude a peace on the terms offered 
to him, and to give his two sons as hostages for the per- 
formance of its conditions. 

When parhament met, Mr. Pitt, to the agreeable sur- 
prise of the nation, proved that the finances w^ere in sucji 
a flourishing state, that government would be ena- 
17P2 ^^^^ *^ lighten the burdens of the people, by ta- 
' king off taxes to the amount of two hundred thou- 
sand pounds a year, and, at the same time, to appropriate 
double that sum for the reduction of the national debt. 
He also observed, that the general state of affairs in Eu- 
rope promised a continuance of peace, and that he expec- 
ted an immediate reduction of the naval and military es- 
tablishment. These brilliant prospects, however, were 
©bscured before the conclusion of the year. 

The continental powers, jealous of the principles which 
had been developed in the French revolution, held a secret 
convention at Pilnitz, in Lusatia, where it was determined 
to prepare for war against France. The haughty demands 
of restitution urged by the emperor, left no other alterna- 
tive to the French people than to declare war against Aus- 
tria ; and Prussia joining against France, it was evident 
that Great Britain could not long be kept out of the vor- 
tex. The combined armies of Austria and Prussia enter- 
ed France under the duke of Brunswick, accompanied by 
the Prussian monarch in person ; and, under the sanction 
of the two courts, was issued a proclamation, which de- 
nounced the most dreadful vengeance against the French 
nation, and threatened to punish as rebels to their king, and 
destroyers of the public tranquillity, all such as were 
found in arms against the troops of the allied powers. 

This savage and impolitic manifesto, which seemed pur- 
posely calculated to complete the ruin of the French king, 
filled up the measure of the popular fury. The palace of 
the Thuilleries was attacked by the Parisian populace ; 

. and, being resolutely defended by the Swiss guards, 

^3' a most bloody conflict ensued, which terminated in 

' the total defeat and destruction of the guards, and 

■^ * the complete triumph of the Parisians. The king, 

with the queen, at the commencemnt of the engagement, 

had made a precipitate retreat to the hall of the national 

assembly, and that unfeehng body committed them close 



GEORGE iir. 441 

prisoners to the temple. Soon after, Louis XVI. was for- 
mally deposed, and the abolition of royalty in France de- 
creed by the national convention. Massacres, unparal- 
leled in the annals of civilized nations, v^rere perpetrated 
under the sacred name of liberty. The prisons were for- 
ced open ; and all those murdered, who had been g 
confined for imputed sentiments of royalty. In short, ^ ' 
the party which had usurped all power in France, 
were guilty of atrocities, which, to relate in simple terms, 
would turn humanity pale. On this occasion, the prin- 
cess Lamballe was one of the many victims to their infer- 
nal vengeance ; and her fate was attended with such cir- 
cumstances of horror as could scarcely enter into the ima- 
gination of man. 

After the deposition of Louis, our ambassador was re- 
called from Paris ; and though Chauvelin, the Frencli 
ambassador, still remained in London, he was not acknow- 
ledged in any official capaci^f. Not only were the Austri- 
an and Prussian armies compelled to evacuate France, 
but the French general Dumourier overran the Low Coun- 
tries in a series of triumphs ; and, before the year had 
closed, tho whole of the Austrian Netherlands, with the 
exception of Luxemburgh and Liege, had submitted to the 
arms of the republican invaders. In the exultation occa- 
sioned by these successes, the convention passed their 
famous decree, offering fraternity and assistance to all na- 
tions engaged in a struggle for liberty ; and, on the cap- 
ture of Antwerp, they declared the navigation of the 
Scheldt free, which this country was bound by treaty to 
resist. 

These decrees were justly obnoxious to the British mi- 
nistry, as encouraging sedition and revolt in every mo- 
narchical government, and treating with contempt the 
rights of neutral nations. A royal proclamation appeared ^ 
in which it was declared, that evil disposed persons in this 
country were acting in concert with others in foreign parts, 
in order to subvert the laws and constitution ; and avow- 
ing his majesty's design of forthwith imbodying a part of 
the militia. Considerable alarm was spread through the 
sound part of the nation, of which description the majority 
was immense ; and both public bodies and private individ- 
uals testified their zeal for preserving the public peace and 
supporting the constitution of their ceontry. NamerouF 



44^ HEisTO'RY dF EfTGLAND, 

associations weie formed against republicans and level 
lers ; ioyal addresses poured in from all parts ; and the pul- 
pit and the press were ahke employed in recommending 
social order, and in disseminating those principles which 
had raised Britain to a state of unexampled political hap- 
piness. 

When the parliament met, the infamous fraternizing de- 
cree of France having excited just alarm and indignation, 
a bill was passed, by which his majesty should be empow- 
ered to order aliens to quit the kingdom, as circumstances 
might justify or policy require. It was now sufficiently 
evident, that hostilities between Great Britain and France 
would not be long deferred. 

A sentiment of horror pervaded the nation, when intel- 
ligence was received of the condemnation and public ex- 
ecution of the unfortunate Louis XVI., the mild- 
- * Qcj* est and most inoffensive of a long line of kings, 
' who suffered death by the punishment of the guil- 
lotine, on the 21st of January. The parliament being 
sitting, advantage was taken of the sensation which this 
melancholy event produced, to unite all parties in the 
vigorous prosecution of a war, for which 5>reparations had 
long been making. Chauvelin, the accredited minister of 
Louis XVI., was ordered to quit the kingdom; and the 
French republic, regarding his dismission as a direct act 
of hostility declared war against the king of Great Britain 
and the prince of Orange, as stadtholder of the United 
Provinces. 

The necessity of this war, which was actively underta- 
ken by this 'ountry without any formal declaration, was 
warmly disputed in parliament ; and it was affirmed that 
hostilities with France, on the grounds alleged by minis- 
ters, were neither for the honour nor the interest of Great 
Britain. Tiie Enghsh troops, under the command of the 
duke of York, having joined those of Austria and Prussia, 
the combined armies defeated the French generals. Va- 
lence, Miranda, Dumourier, and Dampierre, and took the 
cities of Valenciennes, Conde, Mentz, and Quesnoy. It 
was resolved in a council of war, that the British, Hanove- 
rians, and Dutch, should separate from the main army and 
attack West Flanders. Accordingly, the British forces un- 



GEORGE III* 443 

dcr the duke of York, made an attempt on Dunkirk ; but 
the English army was compelled to retreat, with the loss 
of all its heavy artillery. 

Meanwhile, the fury of the jacobins in France roused 
the people in several provinces to resistance ; and lord 
Hood being cruising in the Mediterranean, the inhabitants 
of Toulon entered into a negotiation with him, and deli- 
vered into his possession the town and the shipping ; but 
the republicans, collecting a large irregular force, attacked 
the place with such impetuosity, that the English were 
obliged to withdraw, after destroying nine of the enemy's 
ships of the line and some frigates. 

Though this campaign was on the whole successful on 
the side of the allies, yet its termination was by no means 
equally auspicious as its commencement. They had pre- 
served Holland, and recovered the Netherlands ; but the 
tide of success was now turned against the confederates, 
who, acting without any regularly concerted plan, showed 
alternate vigour and irresolution. 

At home, revolutionary doctrines were industriously 
propagated, and seditious societies formed ; and several 
persons of talents, who had lent their aid in promoting 
schemes dangerous to the constitution, were arrested and 
brought to trial. By the severity of the laws of Scotland, 
some of them, being convicted of sedition in that country, 
were sentenced to be transported to Botany Bay, which 
was accordingly carried into execution ; but in England, 
the promoters of disorder and confusion, who had been 
indicted for high treason, were all eventually acquitted. 
The merits of the judgments on the delinquents in Scot- 
land afterwards underwent a discussion in parliament. 

A message from tl'O king to both houses of parliament 
announced the avowed intentions of the enemy to invade 
this country. A great augmentation of the militia, 
and an addition of volunteer fensible corps, were i«q/ 
accordingly voted. The ardour with which young 
men of all ranks entered into these military associations, 
for the purpose of defending their country, equally damped 
the resolution of domestic traitors and foreign foes ; and 
the preparations which had been made for invading 
England, began to slacken, and were at last wholly dis- 
continued. 

38* 



444 HISTORY OF ESrOLAND. 

On tlie continent, the arms of the allies, from a want of 

cordial co-operation, had experienced many reverses ; but 

the English were consoled by the splendid naval victory 

obtained by lord Howe over the French fleet, which hai 

r 1 ventured from Brest harbour, for the purpose of 
June 1, ^ r ^ c A • T xu- 

1 704 protectmg a large convoy from America. In this^ 

* action, which was warmly contested, the French 

suffered a total defeat, with the loss of six ships of the 

line taken, and one sunk. The French fleet consisted of 

twenty-six sail of the line, and the English of twenty-five. 

In the West-Indies, Martinico, St. Lucie, and Guada- 
loupe, were successively captured ; and in the East, Pon- 
dicherry, Chandernagore, and Mahie, fell under the power 
of the Enghsh. In short, signal as had been the disasters 
of the allied armies on the continent, in almost every en- 
terprise in which the British were singly engaged, they 
Were completely successful. 

An accession was made to the British empire by the an- 
nexation of Corsica to ihe crown of England ; but policy, 
or necessity, in a short time compelled this country to a- 
bandon an island, which would ever have been attended 
with more expense than advantage. 

When the victories of the French in the Netherlands 
had removed their apprehensions from foreign enemies, 
their attention was directed to internal tyranny. After 
the jacobins had triumphed over the girondists, they were 
themselves divided into two parties. Those called the 
faction of the cordeliers, being opposed to the views of 
■Robespierre, who had made rapid strides to single despo- 
tism, were arrested by his orders, and put to death. The 
French people, however, no sooner considered the atro- 
cities of which Robespierre had been guilty, than a power- 
ful party v/as formed against him ; and the fall of the 
tyrant put an end to the reign of terror in France ; but un- 
der every successive faction, the arms of the republic pre- 
vailed on the continent, and at once Germany, Spain, and 
Italy, felt their irresistible force. The United Provinces 
were speedily overrun by a French army ; and the 
Stadtholder, with his family, sought refuge in England. 

In this year, Poland, overwhelmed by a foreign despo- 
tism, v/as blotted out from the number of European kingr 
doms, ?ind its territories were divided betweeii Prussia. 



Gi:e!t6C tiu AA6 

Austria, an^ Russia, the three powers that conspired an^ 
effected its ruin. 

The splendid successes of the French in the last cam- 
|)aign, had disposed most of the neighbouring pow- 
ers to acknowledge the republic. Prussia and i^q^ 
Spain concluded a treaty with France ; and Hol- 
land being fraternized by the French, the Dutch, frooi 
long treacherous friends, became the open enemies of this 
Country. Warm debates took place in the British parlia^ 
indent on the subject of peace ; but the warlike proposals of 
ministers were still supported by great majorities. At this 
period of the contest, the nation seemed wearied and dis* 
pirited ; but another victory by sea, gained by lord Brid- 
port, off port rOrient, tended to encourage the people, and 
to convince them that they were invulnerable on their na- 
tive element. The engagement began early in the morning, 
and continued till three in the afternoon, by which time 
three ships of the line had struck their colours. The rest 
of the French squadron, keepmg close in shore, escaped 
into rOrient. 

In the spring of this year, his royal highness the prince 
of Wales contracted a matrimonial alliance with his cousiuj 
the princess Caroline Amelia, daughter of the duke of 
Brunswick. This marriage, which gave great joy to the 
people, eventually proved a source of much domestic mi- 
sery and national inquietude. In the following year, the 
princess gave birth to a daughter ; and, soon after, a for? 
mal separation of the parents took place. 

Various circumstances had nispireu the English people 
with a spirit of discontent. The cruel and illegal practices 
of crimps for the recruiting service had occasioned several 
violent tumults ; and the increasin^j scarcity of provisions 
aggravated the public ill-humour. The reforming socie- 
ties began to act with great boldness ; and that denomina- 
ted the Corresponding Society held several public meet- 
ings, one of which, in the fields near Copenhagen House^ 
was computed to be attended by fifty thousand persons, 
and was distinguished by the daring addresses made to 
the people. On the first day of the meeting of parliament^ 
his majesty was grossly insulted in passing to the house of 
lords by a furious mob, who clamourously demanded peace, 
and the dismission of Mr. Pitt. 



446 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

In consequence of this outrage, two bills passed botli 
houses of parliament : one for the better security of his 
majesty's person, by extending the laws of treason : the 
other, for the prevention of seditious meetings. These 
bills, however, did not pass without strong opposition. 

This year, that valuable settlement, the Cape of Good 
Hope, and part of Ceylon, were wrested from the Dutch ; 
but an expedition to Quiberon, hi which were embarked 
about three thousand French emigrants, entirely failed. 

An overture was made by the British government to ne- 
gotiate a peace with France ; but it was so captiously, not 
to say insolently received, that it was impossible to take 
any farther steps for the attainment of this object. The 
truth seems to be, that the two governments were less in- 
clined to a pacification than the people, who were anxious 
to be relieved from a war, the evils of which were severely 
felt, and the eventual advantages of which they did not 
comprehend, or did not think sufficicient to compensate 
the pressures under which they laboured. 

During the last campaign, the French had been less 
successful than in the former year ; but the directory 
made vigorous preparations for placing the numerous 
armies of the republic in a most formidable posture ; and 
the success of the French arms was not surpassed in 
any former period. In Italy, the republican troops 
t-qc* were commanded by general Bonaparte,* whose 
advance into that country was an almost uninter- 
rupted career ©f victory. He defeated the imperialists at 
Lodi, and compelled nearly the whole of Italy to sue for 
peace. In Germany, too, the campaign began successful- 
ly on the side of the French ; and generals Moreau and 
Jourdan penetrated to the very heart of the empire ; but 
they were afterwards repelled by the archduke Charles, 
who drove back the invaders. 

Hence the love of peace became more and more felt by 

* Napoleon Bonaparte was a native of Corsica, where he was 
born in 1769. With the most intrepid courage, and an aspiring 
ambition, he possessed talents of the first order, whch raised 
hira to the summit of power in France, and rendered him formi- 
dable to all the neighbouring nations. After seating himself on 
the throne of the Bourbons, the whole of Europe, with the ex- 
ception of Great Britain, submitted to the will of this wonderful 
man. 



dEOBCEl iir. 347 

the British and the Austrians, who now alone remained of 
the grand confederacy which had been formed against 
France ; but in proportion as the enemy was successful, 
he increased his demands, and refused to listen to equal 
terms of accommodation. To evince the sincerity of their 
desire for peace, the British ministry sent lord Malmesbu- 
ty as plenipotentiary to Paris, to open a negotiation with 
the French republic. A mutual restitution of conquests 
was the basis on which his lordship was empowered to 
treat ; but the French, ret\ising to restore the Netherlands, 
ordered lord Malmesbury to quit Paris in forty- eight 
hours, and the French territory with as mu( h expedition 
as possible. Whether either of the two governments was 
really desirous of peace at this time, seems very doubtful. 

At the close of this year, the French, encouraged by re- 
ports of disaffection in Ireland, attempted, with thirteen 
ships of the line, and a large body of troops, to make a de- 
scent at Bantry-bay ; but the winds dispersing the arma- 
ment, the commander-in-chief, who had arrived at his 
place of destination, returned to Brest with the loss of one 
ship of the line and two frigates. 

In Saldanna bay, a Dutch fleet of seven sail of the line, 
which had sailed in hopes of retaking the Cape of Good 
Hope, was captured by admiral Eiphinstone ; and thus 
ended a campaign, in which Britain was uniformly suc- 
cessful on her own element. 

The aspect of affairs, however, was gloomy and 
dismal. The rapid and enormous increase of the ^«Qr-* 
national debt had created an alarm among the pro- 
prietors of the public funds ; and the bank having advan- 
ced immense and extraordinary sums to government, it 
was found expedient to stop the payment in specie. This 
strong measure, which necessity alone could justify, caused 
a great sensation ; but it appearing that the bank had 
still a great surplus property, confidence was restored ; 
and the notes of the bank parsed as freely as ever, though 
the prohibition of payment in cash was ordered to be con- 
tinued. 

Scarcely had the public alarm from the bank subsided, 
i/phen other dangers occasioned equal dread and conster- 
nation. A serious mutiny broke out among the seamen of 
the channel fleet lying at Spithead ; but on obtaining 



44S ttlSTORY OF ENGLAND. 

an increase of pay, which the circumstances of the time;s 
and their own merits rendered necessary, order and dis- 
cipline were speedily re-established. 

It was hoped, that the concessions of government would 
have prevented any fresh insurrection ; but a mutiny broke 
out at the Nore, much more outrageous and full of dan- 
ger. ^New and extravagant demands were dictated to the 
Admiralty, delegates were chosen to conduct the meeting, 
and one Richard Parker was appointed admiral of the 
mutinous fleet. The jfirmness of government, however, 
and the enactment of two bills, denouncing death against 
all who should seduce any of his majesty's seamen from 
their duty, or hold any communication with ships in a state 
of mutiny, at length overawed those misguided men. The 
red flag of mutiny was struck ; and many of the ring' 
leaders, among whom was Parker, suflered deserved pun- 
ishment. 

To these disgraceful proceedings in the channel, the 
successful bravery of our seamen against the enemy forms 
a striking contrast. Admiral sir John Jervis, command- 
ing fifteen sail of the line, fell in with a Spanish fleet of 
twenty-seven sail off" Cape St. Vincent ; and, after an en- 
gagement of five hours, in which the great superiority of 
British tactics, skill, and bravery, was displayed, captur- 
ed four of the number. The honour of a peerage was 
deservedly bestowed on the gallant admiral, with the title 
of earl St. Vincent, in allusion to the scene of this glorious 
achievement. 

After this victory, rear-admiral Nelson, who had parti- 
cularly distinguished himself in the action, was sent with 
a flotilla to make a nocturnal attack on the town of Santa 
Cruz, in the island of Teneriffe. This attempt, however, 
was unsuccessful ; the gallant admiral lost an arm ; and 
one hundred and fifty men were either killed or wounded 
in the assault. 

Admiral Duncan, who had long been engaged in 
-^qJ blocking up the Dutch fleet in the Texel, having 
' returned to England to refit, the enemy ventured 
to sea. Duncan hastily returning, disposed his squadron 
in such a manner as to prevent the Dutch from escaping 
without a conflict. The action was extremely obstinate j 
butj at last, nine of the largest ships, and two adqairali?. 



6E0E6£ iii< 44^ 

w^rfe the trophies of British prowess. For this service^ 
the gallant admiral was raised to a peerage, by the style 
and title of lord viscount Duncan, of Camperdown, off 
which place this victory was achieved. 

Meanwhile, the British government attempted to renei^ 
the negotiation for peace ; and lord Malmesbury was 
again commissioned to proceed to Lisle ; but the French 
requiring that England should restore all the possessions 
which had been taken from France, Spain, and Holland, 
without offering any compensation on the part of those 
powers, the British plenipotentiary found it necessary to 
return. 

About this time, however, the Austrians being com- 
pletely discomfited in Italy, the emperor was induced to 
gign a definitive treaty with the French republic, at Cam- 
po Formio ; and thus Great Britain was left singly to com- 
bat with an enemy, strengthened by a large accession of 
territory and population, after all the other powers had 
been successively withdrawn, or intimidated from our al- 
liance. 

Ireland, which had 'ongbeen agitated by foreign 
and domestic enemies, became this year the scene ,«qj^* 
of an unnatural rebellion. The United Irishmen, 
who had formed a conspiracy against government, being 
disappointed in their expectations of receiving assistance 
from France, prepared for an extensive insurrection, with- 
out waiting for a co-operation from the continent. Stimu- 
lated by some persons of rank and consequence among 
them, they were guilty of the most savage atrocities ; and 
a few of the principal traitors being themselves betrayed, 
their wretched adherents, finding concealment no longer 
possible, broke out into open rebellion. 

It would be painful to enter into the details of the cru- 
elties and murders which were perpetrated in that unhap- 
py country. In this unnatural contest, in which one part 
of the British empire warred with the rest, numbers of the 
insurgents fell ; while the survivors of the United Irish- 
men wreaked their vengeance on the unhappy prisoners 
that fell into their hands. 

At last earl Camden was recalled, and the marquis 
Cornwallis, who, to the highest personal character united 
splendid military talents, was appointed to Ihc vice-royal- 



450 HISTORY 6t EN6LANIJ, 

ty of Ireland. By offering pardon to all, except to the 
leaders in the rebellion, he prevailed on the greatest part 
of the insurgents to surrender their arms, and take the 
Oath of allegiance to his majesty ; and the rest were de- 
feated or awed by the king's troops. 

The French, with a small body of forces, endeavoured t© 
revive the rebellion ; and, surprising our troops by their 
sudden appearance, gained a temporary advantage, but 
were soon overpowered ^nd captured by lord Cornwallis. 
A French squadron of one ship of the Ime, and eight fri- 
gates, with troops and ammunition on board, destined for 
Ireland, was taken or dispersed by sir John Borlase War- 
ren ; and the whole French equipment, with the except 
tion of two frigates, fell ultimately into the hands of the 
Enghsh. 

Meanwhile, Bonaparte had sailed from Toulon with an 
armament, consisting of thirteen ships of the line, six fri- 
gates, and transports, having on board an army of thirty 
thousand men. Malta capitulated to this armament, by 
the treachery of some of the chiefs of that island ; and 
Steering its course for Egypt, the French debarked their 
forces in that country, which they speedily overran, not- 
withstanding the spirited opposition of the Mamelukes. 

Admiral Nelson, who had been detached by lord St. 
Vincent, in quest of the enemy, with thirteen sail of the 
line and one fifty-gun ship, found the French fleet at 
anchor in the bay of Aboukir. A severe and 
.^qpj* obstinate engagement ensued ; and, after a dread- 
ful conflict, a complete victory rewarded the skill 
and gallantry of the British admiral, his officers, and men. 
Besides the French flag-ship of 120 guns, one 74 was 
burnt ; one of 80 guns and seven of 74, were captured ; 
two ships of the line and two frigates escaped by flight, 
but were soon after taken. If Bonaparte had not pos- 
sessed great talents and a fertile genius, this victory, which 
deprived his army of all communication with Europe, 
would have completely paralyzed the expedition to Egypt. 
For this service the admiral was created lord Nelson of the 
Nile, and received a pension of 2000/. besides other ho- 
nours and rewards which were bestowed on him by some 
of the sovereigns of Europe. 

The grand seignior now declared war against France ; 



GEORGE III. 451 

and Paul, the new emperor of Russia, in whose character 
passion and frivohty were chiefly predominant, displayed 
his detestation of French principles, and was subsidised by 
England. The emperor of Germany also joined the con- 
federacy against France ; and the republic had again to 
contend with another powerful alliance. 

Meanwhile, the assessed taxes not having proved sD 
productive as had been expected, the minister had re- 
course to a tax on income, requiring one tenth on all in*- 
comes exceeding two hundred pounds a-year. 

A measure, however, which will immortalize the me- 
mory of the premier, and deserve the lasting gratitude of 
both countries, was his projected union with Ireland ; 
which, after being canvassed with great attention in Eng- 
land, and violently opposed in Ireland, was at last carried 
into effect, on principles peculiarly favourable to the real 
interests of the latter country. 

The arms of Russia speedily gave a new turn to the war 
in Italy ; the English recovered Naples for its former sove- 
reign ; and sir Sidney Smith, by his bravery and able con* 
duct, repelled an invasion of Syria, headed by Bonaparte 
himself. 

The perfidy and duplicity of Tippoo Saib having occa-* 
sioned a new war in India, general Harris, with 
equal success and ability, made himself master of i,^qq 
Seringapatam, in storming which the tyrant of the 
Mysore fell in action, and with him the empire which had 
been established by his father Hyder Ally. The greater 
part of his dominions were seized by the East-India Com- 
pany, and his family were sent to Calcutta. 

While the allies were engaged in endeavouring to make 
an impression upon France, Great Britain undertook an 
expedition to detach the Batavian republic from its con- 
nexion with the French ; and a powerful armament wa$ 
sent to Holland, under the command of the duke of York. 
On the 27.th of August, sir Ralph Abercrombie, with the 
British and Russian troops, landed at the Helder, and de- 
feated the forces opposed to them, after a short and sharp 
conflict. Soon after, however, the duke of York assuming 
the command, the enemy having assembled in great force, 
and the season being too far advanced to suffer them to 

39 



452 Hf5T0ay OF ENGLAND* 

» 

Continue in the field, in a hostile country, tlie English 
were obliged to abandon the enterprise with great loss. 

Meanwhile, Bonaparte left the army which he command- 
cid in Egypt, and embarking in an armed vessel, reached 
France in safety. The divisions and intrigues in the 
French directory, aided by the popularity which he had 
acquired, enabled him to seize the reins of government ; 
and dissolving the council of five hundred, he established 
^new constitution, the executive part of which was vested 
iii himself as first consul, with two subordinate consuls as 
his colleagues. 

On his accession to the consular government, Bona- 
parte addressed a letter to the king of Great Britain, and 
requested his majesty to concur with him in restoring peace 
to the world ; but these overtures being rejected, under 
the plea that his continuance in power might be as unsta- 
ble as his predecessors, he prepared to carry on the war 
T n 14 with vigour. At Marengo, he gave the Austrians a 

iRnn 'otiost signal defeat, and obliged the emperor to 
conclude the treaty of Luneville. Malta having 
submitted to the arms of England, after a blockade of 
two years, the French entered into a treaty for evacuating 
Egypt ; but the British government unhappily refusing to 
j?atify tins convention, which had been formed under the 
auspices of Sir Sidney Smith, the French general in that 
country re-eommenced hostilities ; and in order to expel 
the enemy from that province, without which our India 
posseHsions could not have been secure, sir Ralph Aber- 
crombie was sent into Egypt with a powerful army. On 
the 21st of March, 1801, that gallant veteran defeated the 
French general, Menou, with great loss, but was mortally 
lyounded in the action, and died a few days after, equally 
beloved and revered for his private virtues as for his mili- 
tary talents. General Hutchinson, who succeeded to the 
command, completed the reduction of Egypt. 

Meanwhile, as the union between Great Britain and 

Ireland had been fixed by the legislature to commence 

and be in force from the first day of the nineteenth century, 

the imperial parliament of both islands met at 

1 801* Westminister, on the 22d of January. The empe- 

* ror of Russia had not only withdrawn himself from 



GEORGE III. 4"53 

tlxe confederacy against France, but listening to th*e 
counsels of Bonaparte, had stimulated Denmark and 
Sweden to enter into an armed neutrality against this 
country. When all Europe was thus combined against 
Britain, and almost every port shut against us, Mr. Pitt 
and his principal coadjutors resigned their situations. The 
minister, apprehending, as has been supposed, that his t 
continuance in office might prove an impediment to the 
restoration of peace, or, considering, as is more probable, 
and has been asserted,, that his pledge to the catholics at 
the time of the union, required either the fulfilment of his 
promise or the sacrifice of his place, relinquished all hrs 
employments. Mr. Addington, speaker of the house of 
commons, was appointed first lord of the treasury, and 
chancellor, of the exchequer ; lord Hawkesbury, secreta- 
ry of state for the foreign department ; and earl St. Vin- 
cent, first lord of the admiralty. 

The king of Prussia earnestly promoted the northern con- 
federacy, and sent an army into Hanover ; but a British 
fleet, under admirals sir Hyde Parker and lord Nelson., 
being despatched to open the Baltic, an engage- 
ment took place at Copenhagen, which had been |qQi 
strongly fortified, when the result was a complete 
victory on the part of the English, chiefly obtained by the 
intrepid conduct of lord Nelson. After this bloody battle, 
an armistice was agreed on ; and the emperor Paul being 
succeeded by his son Alexander, the northern confederacy 
was dissolved, and peace was restored between England 
and the nations of which it was composed. 

The chief difficulty in regard to a pacification with France 
being removed by the evacuation of Egypt by the French, 
prehminaries of peace were signed on the 1st of October, 
to the unbounded joy of the united kingdom. The 
terms, however, were far from giving universal sa- - ^^^ 
tisfaction, and many saw in them the seeds of a 
new war at no great distance ; but, after various delays 
and difficulties, a definite treaty was signed at Amiens, 
on the 27th of March following. By this treaty, 
Great Britain restored to France and her allies, ^ ' * 
every possession or colony which she had taken 
from them during the war, except the Spanish island of 
Trinidad, and the Dutch settlement of Ceylon. Egypt 



454 HISTORY 0?* ENaLAKD. 

was to be restored to the Porte ; and the integrity of the 
Turkish empire was guarantied. The French were to 
evacuate the territories of Naples and of Rome. Malta 
was to be restored to its own order of knights. 

It was soon, however, evident that the treaty of Amieng 
would not be productive of any long period of tranquillity. 
The restless ambition of Bonaparte, which, whilst it could 
not suffer neighbouring nations to repose in peace and se- 
curity, was at last fatal to himself. No man, either of 
ancient or modern times, can be compared with this ex- 
traordinary person, who, as if regarding Europe as too 
confined a theatre for his ambition, grasped at the domin- 
ion of the whole world, and whose unparalleled life seems 
to resemble a fiction and romance, rather than a history of 
real actions. 

His assumption of the presidency of the Italian republic, 

and the convention which he had formed with Spain, were 

objects of jealousy to the British government ; but the 

subjugation of Switzerland was a wanton aggression, which 

excited indignation in the breast of every friend of liberty: 

and the aims at dominion which were every where visible, 

withheld the English ministry from surrendering Malta un- 

^ ^ conditionally. This produced a rupture between 

1803* ^^^^ ^^^ countries, and war was proclaimed by Great 

Britain against France, on the 18th of May. 

One of the first measures of Bonaparte, after the renewal 
of hostilities, was to seize on the electorate of Hanover : 
but the invasion of England appeared at this time the 
principal object which occupied his attention. A flotilla 
was prepared for conveying the mihtary hordes of France 
to the British shores ; extensive camps were formed in 
the vicinity of the harbours ; and the troops were kept in 
constant readiness for embarkation. Such, however, were 
the exertions made to receive the boasted invaders of 
England, that volunteer associations were every where 
formed ; men of all ranks and professions, animated with 
one common feeling of indignation, devoted a great portion 
of their time to preparations for the defence of their coun- 
try ; and the whole kingdom presented the appearance of 
one wide tented field. 

The regular military force of Great Britain was also 
augmented beyond all former precedent j and stationed in 



GEORGE III. 455 

different parts of the kingdom ; while our fleets blocka- 
ded the enemy's ports ; and confined their squadrons 
and flotillas within the protection of their own batte- 
ries. 

Meanwhile, a new insurrection broke out in Dublin, 
which occasioned some alarm, but which was speedily re** 
pressed ; but lord Kilwarden, and his nephew Mr. Wolfe, 
unfortunately passing at the time, were dragged out of 
their carriage by the insurgents, and barbarously put t® 
death. 

This year, the French government transferred Louisia- 
na to the United States of America, for the sum of thr^e 
millions of dollars. 

The majorities on the side of ministers being greatly 
reduced, by the opposition of Mr. Pitt, who had 
hitherto supported the administration, Mr. Adding- . ' ' 
ton resigned the office of chancellor of the exche- 
quer and first lord of the treasury, and was succeeded by 
Mr. Pitt. At the same time, the duke of Portland wa-s 
appointed president of the council ; and lord Eldon lord 
chancellor. 

Various attempts against the enemy's flotillas on their 
own coasts were unsuccessful. The most considerable of 
this kind, was an undertaking by lord Keith, with a fleet 
of men of war and other ships, to destroy about one hun*- 
dred and fifty French vessels, moored on the outside of 
Boulogne pier. The instruments chiefly depended on for 
ilns purpose, were certain exploding vessels, called cata- 
marans, which, however, entirely disappointed the expecv. 
lations that had been formed. 

Though Spain had not declared war against Britain, 
yet the English government considered that power as 
wholly under the control of Bonaparte ; and a British 
squadron was, therefore, sent to intercept the Spanish fri- 
gates which conveyed specie from America to Cadiz. An 
engagement ensued, in which one of the Spanish vessels 
blew up ; and the rest, with the treasure, fell into the 
hands of the English ; but this act of the British govem^ 
-ment can scarcely be considered otherwise than as a vio- 
lation of the law of nations. 

The aggressions of Bonaparte in Germany and Italy, 
provoked another coalition among the European powers ; 

39* 



458 ■ HISTORY OP ENGLANir, 

and the " mighty army of England," which was said to 
be intended for the invasion of this country, and which 
had remained nearly two years stationary and in- 
|OQr* active, was withdrawn from the shores of the 
' channel ; but the fatal battle of Austerlitz destroy- 
ed the hopes of Russia and Austria, and compelled the 
latter power to accept such terms of accommodation as 
France thought fit to dictate. 

Meanwhile Goree, which had been taken by the French, 
was recaptured ; and the Dutch settlement of Surinam 
capitulated to a force under the command of sir Charles 
Green and commodore Hood. Bonaparte, on whom the 
people of France had conferred the rank and title of em- 
peror of the French, made an overture to the king, in 
which he expressed a wish for peace, and deprecated the 
continuance of hostilities as tending to a useless effusion 
of blood. The reply of the British government declared, 
that the king, though ardently desirous of peace, was con- 
^nced that this object could be attained only by arrange- 
snents which should provide for the future safety and tran* 
quillity of Europe, and, in consequence, till he had com- 
municated with the continental powers, with whom he 
was engaged in confidential relations, he felt it impossible 
to give a more particular answer to the overture. 

The misfortunes of our allies on the continent were in 
some degree compensated by the brilliant success which 
attended the fleets of Great Britain. A fleet of twelve 
French, and six Spanish ships of the line, had sailed for 
the West Indies, under the command of admiral Ville- 
neuve ; and lord Nelson, with only eleven sail of the line, 
pursued the French admiral, who, terrified by th& intelli- 
gence of his approach, hastened back to Europe, and, near 
cape Finisterre, was encountered by sir Robert Calder, 
who took two of his large ships. 

Soon after, the combined fleets of France and Spain^ 
amounting to thirty-three sail of the line, again sailed 
under the same admiral, with the intention of giving 
battle to lord Nelson. The British admiral, however, 
had been re-enforced with seven ships, which augmented 
liis fleet to the number of twenty-seven sail of the line. 
On the 21st of October, lord Nelson, to his great joy, des- 
ct*^ the mighty armament of the enemy, about seven 



GEORGE III. 457 

miles east of cape Trafalgar. The last memorable signal 
of the British admiral, " England expects every man to 
do his duty,'' was received with acclamations from the 
whole fleet. About noon the dreadful contest began, by 
the leading ships of the British column breaking through 
the enemy's line. It this bloody battle, lord Nelson was 
mortally wounded by a musket-ball, fired from the shrouds 
of the Redoubtable, to which the admiral's ship, the Victory^ 
was opposed, after having compelled Villeneuve to strike 
his flag on board the Bucentaur. The British hero, how- 
ever, did not close his eyes in death till he had received 
assurance of a decisive victory, when, faintly smiling, he 
exclaimed, " God be praised !" and expired. In this 
engagement, nineteen of the enemy's ships were captured 
by the English. The patriotic hero, by whom this victory 
had been achieved, was interred in the most magnificent 
manner, at the public expense ; the title of earl Nelson 
was conferred on his brother, with a suitable income ; 
and monuments to the memory of him who had been the 
pride and the glory of his country, arose in all the princi^ 
pal towns of the empire. 

Meanwhile, the arms of Britain were crowned with new 
triumphs in India, where sir Arthur Wellesley, now duke 
of Wellington, defeated Scindiah, a powerful Mahratta 
chieftain, and obliged him to cede a large tract of country 
to the British; and, before the close of the year 1805, a 
peace was concluded with Holkar, another Mahratta chiefs 
who was also deprived of a very considerable extent of 
territory. 

France and Prussia concluded a treaty, by which Hand* 
ver was transferred to the latter power ; and Frederic 
William occupied nearly the whole of that electorate, the 
property of his old ally, with his troops. 
#The total failure of the continental coalition greatly 
augmented the gloom which prevailed in England, in con- 
sequence of the alarming illness of Mr. Pitt. This dis- 
tinguished statesman, whose infirm state of health had 
been increased by anxiety and disappointment, expired on 
the 23d of January, after having directed the 
afiairs of this country for a longer period than any . * * 
former minister. Under his auspices, the maritime 
supremacy of England was confirmed by a sexi^ cif uw^ 



458 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 

splendid victories ; but the public burdens were enor- 
mously augmented. He laboured successfully to preserve 
Great Britain from the contagion of revolutionary princi- 
ples ; and he exerted himself with equal zeal, but with less 
success, to resist the military despotism by which France 
threatened to subjugate the continent. In short,, he was 
a statesman of great ability and strength of mind, who 
rendered momentous services to his country ; and it must 
be allowed, that never was the force of the British cha- 
racter tried by greater dangers, or graced by more splendid 
achievements, than under the administration of William 
Pitt. 

On the death of this distinguished and disinterested 
statesman, lord Grenville was appointed first lord of the 
treasury ; Mr. Fox, secretary of state for foreign affairs ; 
lord Henry Petty, chancellor of the exchequer ; and Mr. 
Windham, secretary of state for the department of war 
and the colonies. 

About ten days after these appointments, a negotiation 
■look place with France, which was no less singular in its 
commencement than fruitless in its result. A Frenchman, 
calling himself Gevrilliere, disclosed to Mr. Fox a plan 
for the assassination of Bonaparte ; but that minister dis- 
missed the wretch with indignation, and informed the 
French government of the meditated crime. This extorted 
from Bonaparte a well merited compliment to the honour 
and generosity of Mr. Fox; and a negotiation for peace 
between the two countries commenced ; but, after being 
continued for a considerable length of time, the continental 
policy of France prevented a satisfactory issue. 

One of the first measures of the new ministers was an 
increase on the income-tax, which, already odious and 
oppressive, was raised from five to ten per cent, on all in- 
comes exceeding fifty pounds. m # 

In the house of commons, Mr. Fox moved a resolution, 
which was carried into effect, and which may be said te 
have closed the parliamentary career of that great states- 
man. This resolution proposed to take effectual measures 
for abohshing the Slave Trade ; and an address from 
both houses was carried to the king, beseeching him to 
obtain by negotiation the concurrence of foreign powers in 
t!i«5 abolitioa of the same iniquitoas traffic. 



GEORGE III. 459 

Tlie Cape of Good Hope again surrendered to the Bri- 
tish ; but an attempt on Spanish South America, though 
at first successful, finally proved abortive. In Italy, how- 
ever, the British arms were triumphant, and sir John 
Stuart defeated at Maida a French army under general 
Regnier, with great loss ; but this brilliant victory, which 
was achieved with a comparatively small force, produced 
no permanent change in the state of the kingdom of Na- 
ples, though it preserved Sicily from invasion. Naples 
had been seized on by the French Emperor, and Joseph 
Bonaparte was proclaimed king of that country. 

The emperor Napoleon carried into effect a scheme for 
subverting the ancient constitution of the German empire, 
by estabhshing what is called the confederation of the 
Hhine. The members of this confederation were the em- 
peror of the French, the kings of Bavaria and Wirtemberg, 
and several other German princes. Separating themselves 
from the Germanic empire, these princes chose Bonaparte 
for their protector, and established a federal alliance, by 
which they engaged to furnish a certain contingent of 
troops, in case of a continental war. Conformably to 
an arrangement with Napoleon, Francis resigned his ofllice 
and title of emperor of Germany, and annexed his German 
provinces to the empire of Austria. 

On the 13th of September died that illustrious states- 
man and friend to the human race, Charles James Fox, 
whose last moments were embittered, by finding 
that the ambition of Bonaparte deprivcd'him of the . '^' 
pleasure dearest to his heart, — that of terminating 
the sufferings of distracted Europe, and restoring to his 
country the blessings of peace. As a senator, Mr. Fox 
was distinguished ahke for the comprehensiveness of his 
views, the liberality of his principles, and the persuasive 
and convincing power of his eloquence : as a minister, he 
displayed in the management of public affairs, the same 
noble simplicity which characterized his conduct in private 
life ; and, as a man, his great and amiable qualities ac- 
quired him the cordial affection of his friends, and the 
generous admiration of his adversaries. 

On the death of this lamented statesman, lord Howick 
was appointed secretary of foreign affairs, and Mr. 
Thomas Grenville became first lord of the admiralty. 



46.0 HISTOTY OP ENGLAND. 

The fate of Prussia proved the danger to which all the 
old governments were exposed. After Napoleon was 
engaged in hostilities with Great Britain and Sweden, he 
rendered himself formidable to all Europe, by the prompt- 
ness and energy of his conduct. Frederic William dis- 
covered that the French emperor, who had guarantied to 
him the possession of Hanover, was offering the restoration 
of that electorate as the basis of negotiation with the Eng- 
lish court. Indignant at the danger of losing this acquisi- 
tion, he resolved to try the hazard of war ; and, after suc- 
cessive actions, in which the Prussians were uniformly de- 
feated, a tremendous conflict took place on the 14th of Oc- 
tober, in the plains between Weimar and Auerstadt. The 
issue of this engagement, in which Frederic William 
1 ROfi suffered a total defeat, laid Prussia at the mercy 
of Bonaparte, who took possession of Berlin, and 
completely subjugated that country. Between the French 
and Russian armies a series of bloody contests also took 
place, in which the former were uniformly victorious ; 
and, at length, peace was signed at Tilsit by the emperors 
of France and Russia. 

Napoleon now controlled the whole of the continent. 
His brother Louis was created king of Holland ; his bro- 
ther Joseph, King of Naples ; and his brother Jerome was 
in person created king of Westphalia, with territories ceded 
by Prussia and other neighbouring states. Napoleon him- 
self was not only emperor of France, but also king of Italy ; 
and Spain was entirely subservient to the policy of that 
ambitious and daring, though able ruler. 

Whilst at Berlin, Bonaparte issued a decree, interdict-* 
ing all commerce and correspondence between the coun- 
tries under his control and the British Islands, which he 
declared to be in a state of blockade. 

The well known reluctance of the king to extend the 
privileges of the catholics, did not prevent lord Grenville 
and his associates from introducing a bill into parliament, 
for the purpose of empowering persons of that persuasion 
to fill the highest offices in the army and the navy. The 
king expressed his decided objection to this measure, and 
demanded from his ministers a written pledge, that they 
would never again bring forward any proposal connected 
with the catholic question. As the ministers could not 



GEORGE lU, 461 

il^Sent to this, they resigned their situatiolis, and a new 
administration was formed. The duke of Portland was 
appointed first lord of the treasury ; Mr. Perceval, chan- 
chellor of the exchequer ; lord Eldon, lord chancellor ; 
lord Liverpool, secretary for the home department ; and 
Mr. Canning, secretary for foreign affairs. 

A new parliament was assembled, which fully establish- 
ed the strength of the new ministers ; and the first 
important measure was a plan for increasing the ^ ' * 
regular army from the militia, and supplying the 
deficiencies arising from such a transfer, by a supplemen- 
tary militia. In the beginning of this year, the island of 
Curracoa surrendered to the English. 

A confederacy of the northern powers against Britain 
being now apprehendied, the ministers sent a powerful ar- 
mament against Denntark, which was compelled to surren- 
der her fleet to the English, after the bombardment of her 
capital. This measure justly excited the indignation of 
Europe, and gave to the enemies of Great Britain, a plau- 
sible pretext for their hostility. 

In consequence of the decree of Bonaparte from Berlin, 
the English Ministers issued orders, subjecting all ports 
and places in Europe, from which the British flag was 
excluded, and all those in the colonies of his majesty's 
enemies, to the restrictions consequent on actual block- 
ade, declaring all trade in the produce or manufactures of 
such countries or colonies to be unlawful, and authorizing 
the capture of all vessels engaged in that trade. To 
these orders Bonaparte pubhshed a rejoinder at Milan, in 
which he decreed, that all ships which should be searched 
by a British vessel, or should pay any tax to the English 
government, were denationalized, and might be lawfully 
captured wherever found. 

These conflicting regulations respecting the trade of 
neutrals, occasioned an act in the American congress, im- 
posing a strict embargo on all vessels belonging to the 
American states, and commanding all foreign ships to quit 
the harbours of the United States. 

The designs of Bonaparte against Spain became daily 
more manifest ; and a treaty was concluded at Fontaine- 
bleau for the partition of Portugal. A French army was 



^62 HISTOUTT OF EKGMNi), 

already on its inarch to Lisbon, when the Portuguese fleef 
^ QQ set sail from the Tagtis, with the prince-regent 

1 807 ' ^^^ ^^^ whole royal family on board, and pro* 
ceeded to Rio de Janeiro, escorted by an Eng- 
lish squadron. The French army under Junot, already 
on the heights above Lisbon, took possession of that capi- 
tal, and subjected the inhabitants to military law. 

Madeira was placed under the protection of the Eng- 
lish ; and the Danish islands in the West Indies, St. 
Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix, surrendered to a British 
squadron under sir Alexander Cochrane. 

The French had obtained possession of the principal 
fortresses in Spain ; and the approach of Murat, with a 
powerful army, to the capital, increased the alarm of the 
Spanish people. Charles IV. abdicated the crown in 
favour of his son, the prince of the Asturias, who com- 
menced his reign under the title of Ferdinand the Seventh; 
but this arrangement did not suit the policy of France, 
and, the father and son quarrelling, Charles transferred to 
Napoleon the sovereignty of Spain, who, having persuaded 
Ferdinand to meet him at Bayonne, compelled him to 
renounce the crown in favour of his family. Charles, his 
queen, and Godoy, prince of the peace, retired to Rome ; 
and Joseph Bonaparte was installed king of Spain 
ffiOR ^^^ ^^^^ Indies ; while Joachim Murat, the brother- 
' in-law of the French emperor, was made king of 
'Naples. 

These transactions, however, did not take place without 
causing great commotions and much effusion of blood in 
Spain ; and the Spanish people, exasperated by the cruel- 
ties committed by the French in that country, declared 
war against France, and sent deputies to implore the 
assistance of England. This request was readily granted, 
and a force often thousand men sailed to Corunna, under 
the command of sir Arthur Wellesley ; but on communica- 
ting with the Spanish leaders in that district, it was deter- 
mined to proceed to Portugal, where the troops were dis- 
embarked in Mondego-bay. Junot, collecting his whole 
force, attacked the British army in a strong position at 
Vimiera ; but, after an obstinate contest, the French were 
defeated with the loss of between three and four thousand 
men. Sir Hew Dalrympie, who arrived from Gibraltar to 



GEORGE ni. 463 

assume the command of the British army, concluded a 
disgraceful convention at Cintra, by which the French 
troops were sent to France, at the expense of the Eng- 
lish government, without being considered as prisoners of 
war. 

The command of the British army in Portugal devolved 
on sir John Moore, who arrived with a re-enforcement of 
twelve thousand men. That officer had been intrusted 
with an expedition for the assistance of Sweden, against 
which war had been declared by Russia, Prussia, and 
Denmark ; but through the capricious and violent conduct 
of the Swedish monarch, he had been constrained to re- 
turn without landing his troops. 

Meanwhile, the disasters which befel the French armies 
in Spain, intimidated Joseph Bonaparte, who, after a resi- 
dence often days in Madrid, decamped from that capital, 
taking with him the regalia and crown jewels, and some 
other valuables from the palaces and treasury. On this 
occasion, the Spaniards contemptuously observed, that 
'* Joseph had put into his pocket, the crown which he 
durst not wear upon his head." 

The French emperor, indignant at the conduct of the 
Spaniards, and the discomfiture of his armies, announced 
to his legislative body, that, placing himself at the head 
of his troops, he would crown his brother at Madrid, and 
plant his eagles on the fortresses of Portugal. Accord- 
ingly, a large and overwhelming force entered Spain ; and 
the undisciplined troops of that country were easily de- 
feated by the ho&ts of French veterans, commanded by the 
most able generals, and animated by the presence of Na- 
poleon. 

By the representations and remonstrances of Mr. Frere, 
the Enghsh minister at Madrid, sir John Moore had been 
urged to direct his march to that capital ; but hearino- 
that Madrid had surrendered to the French, and that 
Napoleon was marching against him with a great body of 
forces, the English general found himself compelled to 
retreat. The distresses which the British army suffered 
in this retreat were dreadful. With few intervals of re- 
pose, which the French forces allowed them, they traversed 
two hundred and fifty miles in a mountainous country, iu 
the middle of a severe winter, and by roads almost im- 

40 



4^4 HISTORY OF ENGLAND* 

passable. At length, after a most painful and harassing- 

retreat, in which they lost several thousand men, the 

^ British army reached Corunna on the 12th of Ja- 

1809 "^^^y ' ^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^ o^ ^^^^ month, when the 
* embarkation of the troops was about to commence, 
they were attacked by the French, under the command of 
marshal Soult. The British, however, though inferior in 
number, exhausted by harassing marches, and deprived of 
their artillery, which had been embarked, repulsed the 
enemy, and achieved a victory under the most adverse 
circumstances ; but, in this engagement, the English lost 
their brave commander, who was killed by a cannon-ball, 
and who, in his last moments, expressed a hope that his 
country would do him justice. 

Sir Arthur Wellesley being again appointed to the 
command of the army in the peninsula, landed with re-en- 
ibrcements in Portugal. Soult was driven from Oporto ; 
and sir Arthur Wellesley, joined by the Spanish general 
Ouesta, hastened to meet marshal Victor in the south. 
The allied army was strongly posted at Talavera, where 
it was attacked by Victor. An obstinate engagement 
ensued, in which the French were defeated with the 
loss of ten thousand men. This victory occasioned 
great joy in England ; and sir Arthur Wellesley was ho- 
noured with a peerage, by the title of lord viscount Wei* 
iington. 

After this battle, the enemy collected in great force, 
under marshals Ney, Soult, and Mortier, and the British 
army was obliged to retreat into Portugal. In the other 
districts of Spain, the French arms were triumphant ; 
and, at the close of the campaign, the principal armies 
of the patriots had been successfully defeated and dis- 
persed. 

The Island of Martinico was taken by the English ; and 
lord Cochrane destroyed or rendered unserviceable ten 
French ships in Basque roads. 

War being again declared between Austria and Franxie, 
the hostile armies were put in motion ; and battles were 
fought at Abensberg, at Eckmuhl, and at Ratisbon, all in 
favour of the French. In the battle of Asperne, however, 
Bonaparte was unsuccessful against the archduke Charles; 
but at Wagram, a short time after, he obtained a decisive 



GEORGE III. 465 

victory over the Austrians, and compelled the emperor 
again to sue for peace, which he granted. 

An expedition w^s fitted out for making a descent on 
the Dutch island of Zealand ; and an armament, consist- 
ing of a military force of nearly forty thousand men, under 
the command of the earl of Chatham, and a fleet of thirty- 
nine sail of the line, and thirty-six frigates, under the di- 
rection of sir Richard Strachan, sailed from England. 
After a vigorous siege, Flushing was compelled to sur- 
render ; but the ulterior objects of this expedition com- 
pletely failed ; and the occupation of the low and marshy 
islands of Walcherin and South Beveland proved greatly 
destructive to the troops, who were seized with a pestilen- 
tial fever. 

The reduction of Zante, and the consequent surrender of 
the Ionian islands, effected by the joint efforts of lord Col- 
lingwood and sir John Stuart, may be reckoned among the 
more fortunate events of this year. 

A partial change of administration took place, in con- 
sequence of the resignations of lord Castlereagh, Mr. 
Canning and the duke of Portland. Mr. Perceval united 
in his own person the offices of first lord of the treasury, 
and chancellor of the exchequer ; the marquis Wellesley 
was appointed secretary for foreign affairs ; and lord Liver- 
pool secretary at war. 

The next session of parliament commenced with violent 
debates on the disastrous expedition to Walcherin ; 
and lord Chatham thought proper to resign his of- .' ' 
fice of master general of the ordnance. 

In Spain, the cause of independence was still unsuc- 
cessful ; but Cadiz, which had become the seat of govern- 
ment, being protected by a combined British and Spanish 
fleet, and occupied by a considerable military force, bade 
defiance to any attack of the enemy. 

Ciudad Rodrigo and Almeida fell successively into the 
hands of the French. At Buzaco, however, the Enghsh 
obtained a victory, but afterwards retired to the strong 
lines of Torres Vedras ; and marshal Massena, the French 
general, fixed his head quarters at Santarem. 

Napoleon divorced the empress Josephine, and married 
the archduchess Maria Louisa, daughter to the emperoi 
-of Austria. Europe beheld with astonishment this alliance; 



iQQ HISTORY OF ENGLAND, 

which was not less disgraceful to the emperor Francis, 
than injurious in France to the popularity of Bonaparte, 

The sovereignty of Holland was resigned by Louis ; and 
the Seven United States were annexed to the French em- 
pire. In Sweden, the states elected the French marshal 
Bernadotte crown-prince of that country. 

In the West Indies, the English took the island of Gua- 
daloupe ; and in the Indian Ocean, the French islands of 
Bourbon and the Mauritius. They also took Amboyna 
from the Dutch. 

In consequence of the return of the king's malady, the 
prince of Wales was appointed regent, subject to all the 
restrictions which, on a former occasion, had been 
^ni/ proposed by Mr. Pitt. On the 6th of February, 
his royal highness was installed as regent ; and he 
declared his intention not to remove from their stations 
those whom he found his majesty's official servants, lest 
any act of his might interfere with his royal father's re- 
covery. 

The commercial distress of the nation necessarily de~ 
manded the attention of parliament ; and a bill was passed, 
empowering the treasury to issue exchequer bills to the 
amount of six millions sterling, the same to be remibursed 
in three quarterly instalments ; but the effects of this bill 
were less beneficial than had been expected. The legis- 
lature also passed a bill, for preventing the current gold 
coin from being paid for a greater value than its current 
value, for preventing bank of England notes from being 
received at a value inferior to that which they represented, 
and for staying proceedings in -any distress by the tender 
of such notes. 

The difficulty of obtaining the necessary supplies of 
provisions in a desolated country, and at such a distance 
from his resources, compelled Massena to quit his strong 
camp at Santarem. He was closely pursued by lord 
Wellington, who found means to force part of his army 
into occasional actions, in v^/hich great numbers of the 
French were killed or taken prisoners. In order to relieve 
Almeida, which lord Wellington had invested, Massena 
attacked the British army, but was repulsed, and obliged 
to retire to Salamanca. 

Lieutenant general Graham defeated the French at 
Barosa, where the enemy lost an eagle, six pieces of 



GEORGE III. 467 

cannon, and upwards of three thousand men, in killed, 
wounded and prisoners. Marshal Beresford, who was in- 
vesting Badajoz, which the Spanish governor had pusil- 
lanimously surrendered to the enemy, defeated the French 
under marshal Soult, in the battle of Albuera, in which 
the enemy lost about eight thousand men in killed and 
wounded. 

In the east of Spain, the French arms were triumphant. 
Tarragona, reduced after an obstinate defence, suffered 
every cruelty which could be inflicted by the conquerors. 

The Dutch island of Batavia, in the East Indies, surren» 
dered to an English force under sir Samuel Auchmuty. 

The affairs of Great Britain were now approaching to 
a crisis. The contest in Spain was still doubtful ; a dis- 
pute existed with America, in regard to the orders in coun- 
cil, and threatened an open rupture with that country ; 
and France was preparing for the subjugation of Russia, 
which refused to comply with the treaty of Tilsit, 
by excluding the British from all commerce with *oic> 
the continent, a mightier armament than had ever "' 
been collected in Europe. At home, the decline of trade 
produced severe distress among the people ; and a spirit 
of discontent and insubordination manifested itself in se^ 
veral of the manufacturing districts. 

The parliament passed two bills, by one of which the 
crime of frame-breaking was made a capital offence ; and 
by the other, additional powers were given to magistrates 
for a limited time, for the purpose of preserving the pub- 
lic peace in the disturbed counties. 

On the 11th of May, as Mr. Perceval was entering the 
lobby of the house of commons, he was shot by a 
person of the name of BeUingham, and died almost 1 01^* 
immediately. This man professed to have sus- 
tained injuries from the Russian government, which the 
British ministers being unable to redress, he determined to 
put one of them to death, that his case might be brought 
before a cpurt of justice. The murderer made no attempt 
to palliate his crime, which he expiated with his life. 
Ample provision was made by parliament for the widow 
and children of Mr. Perceval ; and men of all parties la- 
jqjented his untimely fate, and bore testimony to his upright 
^nd amiable character. 

40* 



468 HISTORY or EN(^LAND. 

After much delay, a new administration was forraecl, in 
which lord Liverpool was appointed first lord of the trea- 
sury, lord Sidmouth (formerly Mr. Addington) secretary 
of state for the home department, and Mr. Vansittart 
chancellor of the exchequer. 

One of the first acts of the present government was a 
revocation of the orders in council, as far as regarded 
American property ; but before intelligence of this repeal 
could be received in America, the United States had decla- 
red war against Great Britain. The republicans commen- 
ced hostilities by an irruption into Upper Canada, but were 
defeated, and obliged to surrender to the British. For 
their disgraces by land, however, the Americans received 
some compensation by their successes at sea/ 

In the peninsular war, the French arms were triumphant 
in the east of Spain ; but, in the west, they suffered great 
reverses. Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz fell into the hands 
of the allies ; and so important did the capture of the for- 
mer place appear to the Spaniards, that the Cortes confer- 
red on lord Wellington the rank of a grandee, with the 
title of duke of Ciudad Rodrigo. 

Marshal Marmont, who had assumed the command of 
the French army, was completely defeated by lord Wel- 
lington at Salamanca. This was the greatest victory that 
the English general had yet achieved, and sufficiently 
showed that the military talents of his lordship were su- 
perior to those of his adversary, who was one of the most 
distinguished of the French marshals. The effects 
jl ' ■ of this victory were felt in different parts of Spain. 
' Astorga capitulated, the blockade of Cadiz was 
raised, Bilboa evacuated, and Seville recovered. Lord 
Wellington advanced, and laid siege to Burgos ; but fail- 
ing in his attempt to take it, and the French army, which 
liad been re-enforced, threatening the aUies, his lordship 
retreated, and established his head-quarters at Freynada, 
on the Portuguese frontier. In admiration of his talents 
and achievements, the cortes invested him with the au- 
thority of commander-in-chief of the Spanish armies. 

Napoleon's enterprise against Russia, which, in the 
boldness of its object, as well as the magnificent scale 
on which it was conducted, surpassed every expedition 
undei-taken by any European power, threatened the con- 



GEORGE 111. 48^ 

quest of that mighty empire. The French force employed 
in this undertaking, has been estimated at four ^ 
hundred thousand effective men. On the 24th of 



1812 
June, Napoleon with his formidable army, passed 

the Niemen, and entered the Russian territory. The plan 
of his adversaries was, to resist the progress of the in- 
vader without risking a genaral engagement, to lay waste 
the country through which he should aim to penetrate, 
and to harass him as he advanced, and cut off his supplies. 
Bonaparte attacked the main Russian army at Smolensko, 
which the Russians despairing of retaining, they retreated ; 
but the invaders, on their entrance, found the city burning 
and in ruins. The conqueror now hastened towards 
Moscow, of which, after the sanguinary battle of Borodino, 
he obtained possession. 

On the entrance of the French emperor into that devoted 
place, which the invaders had fondly hoped would have 
afforded some repose for their toils, the city was found on 
fire ; and a violent wind arising soon after, the conflagra- 
tion became general, and the whole extent of that ancient 
capital, for many miles, appeared like a sea of flame. Tw6 
thirds of the city were destroyed. 

Napoleon was now in the greatest difficulty. His stores 
w^ere exhausted, and his supplies intercepted by the Rus- 
sian armies ; and his soldiers, dispirited and discontented,, 
were enfeebled by the fatigue and distress to which they 
had been exposed. A retreat was now inevitable. The 
horrors of this retreat, or rather flight, exceed the powers 
of description. The route of the army might by traced, in 
many places, by the dead bodies of those who perished 
from cold, hunger, or fatigue ; and of the numerous hosts 
that composed the invading army, not more than fifty 
thousand men recrossed the Russian boundary. 

The new parliament of Great Britain and Ireland as- 
sembled under happier auspices than the most sanguine 
politician could have ventured to anticipate. The session 
W'as opened by the prince regent^ who expressed his firm 
reliance on the determination of parliament to continue 
every aid in support of a contest, which had first given to 
the continent of Europe the example of persevering and 
successful resistance to the power of France. A grant ol^ 
one hundred thousand pounds was voted to lord Wellingr 
'ton, and another of two hundred thousand pounds fox the 



470 tnSTORY OF ENGLAND. 

ielief of the sufferers in Russia. A bill was passed, by- 
which the East India Company was to continue in pos- 
session of all its former territories in India, with the later 
acquisitions, continental and insular, to the north of the 
equator, for the further term of twenty years from the 
20th of April, 1814. The exclusive right of a commercial 
intercourse with China, and of the trade in tea, was pre* 
served to the company ; but his majesty's subjects in ge-^ 
neral were permitted to trade to and from all ports within 
the limits of the company's charter, under certain provi- 
sions. 

One of the first effects of the late Russian campaign, 

was to rouse the other powers of Europe from their state 

of subjection to the dominion of France. Prussia 

* ' united her arms to those of Russia; and Austria 
* did not long delay to follow the example. Sweden, 
subsidised by Great Britain, joined the allies. The battle 
of Leipsic was completely decisive against the French ; 
and the Dutch, availing themselves of this opportunity of 
throwing off the galling yoke of France, recalled from his 
long exile the prince of Orange, who entered the Hague 
amidst the acclamations of the people. The influence of 
Bonaparte in Germany, was now nearly annihilated ; and 
the complete deliverance of Europe from the yoke of 
France seemed no longer doubtful. 

The disasters of their countrymen in Germany paraly- 
zed the efforts of the French in Spain. The skill and 
activity of lord Wellington prevented them from securing 
the line of the Douro ; and, at Vittoria, he completely de- 
feated the French, commanded by Joseph Bonaparte^ 
under whom marshal Jourdan acted as major-general. 
After suffering this defeat, the French retired by Pampe- 
luna, and pursued their retreat over the Pyrennees into 
France. Joseph Bonaparte fled in confusion, and thus 
terminated his possession of the Spanish monarchy. 

In the east of Spain, the success of the allies was less 
flattering ; and sir John Murray, who had landed an army 
of fifteen thousand men from Sicily, attempted the siege 
of Tarragona ; but, though the town had been partly dis- 
mantled, and was feebly garrisoned, the British general, 
on the report of Suchet's approach from Valencia, hastily 
abandoned the siege, and left his cannon in the batteries. 

Early in January, the allied armies in Germany passed the 




^^apoleon conveyed to St, Helena, 




The three Sovereigns in Hyde Park. 



GEORGE III. 471 

Rhine, and entered France at different points. For some 
time, Napoleon appeared irresolute ; but when the inva- 
ders had reached Champagne, he became convinced ^ ^ 
of the necessity of acting with vigour. At Brienne, j g j 4 ^ 
he attacked marshal Blurher, whom he compelled 
to retreat ; but at La Rothiere, he was obliged to retire 
in his turn. The allies now advanced to Troves, which 
was entered by the prince of Wurtemburg ; Chalons on the 
Marne was evacuated by Macdonald ; and Chalons on 
the Saone was taken by the Austrians. Bonaparte, on 
the verge of ruin, made the most surprising and energetic 
efforts for his recovery. Unable to oppose an adequate 
resistance to the allied armies in every quarter, he deter- 
mined to concentrate his forces, and by bearing vigorous- 
ly on particular points, to aim at destroying their communi- 
cation with each other. In pursuance of this plan, he at- 
tacked the Prussian army under Blucher, and compelled 
him to retreat to Chalons on the Marne. He next direct- 
ed his attention to prmce Schwartzenberg, who had been 
advanced on Paris, by way of the Seine, and forced him 
to retire. 

During these transactions, negotiations for peace were 
carried on at Chatillon. The British envoys were the 
earl of Aberdeen and lord Cathcart, under the direction 
of lord Castlereagh ; Caulaincourt was the representative 
of Napoleon ; and plenipotentiaries were also appointed 
by the Russian, Austrian, and Prussian courts. The ulti- 
matum of Bonaparte, however, to maintain the integrity 
of the French empire, were deemed inconsistent with the 
balance of power in Europe, and on that account the con- 
ferences terminated. 

In the mean time, the marquis of Wellington, after 
crossing the Bidassoa, gradually proceeded in the south 
of France. . His army forced the passsage of the Gave de 
Pau at Orthes, and next day crossed the Adour. A divi- 
sion under marshal Beresford entered Bordeaux, which 
declared for the Bourbons, and the chief inhabitants wel- 
comed the British troops as deliverers. Soult was defeat- 
ed by the marquis of Wellington at Tarbes, and after- 
wards at Toulouse. 

The allied armies in the north of France continued t© 
advance, and, notwithstanding the extraordinary exertions 
and abilities displayed by Napoleon, they succeeded, by « 



472 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

convention entered into with marshal Marmont, in ob- 
taining possession of the city of Paris. A special senate 
appointed a provisional government, which declared, that 
Napoleon Bonaparte had violated the compact which uni- 
ted him to the French- people, and had thereby forfeited 
his right to the throne of France. 

Under these circumstances, on the 4th of April a treaty 
was concluded at Fontainbleau, by which Bonaparte, on 
certain conditions, abdicated, for himself and his heirs, the 
^ ^ thrones of France and Italy. The isle of Elba was 
1814 ^^^® possessed by him in full sovereignty, and an 
annual revenue of two miUions of francs, charged 
on the great book of France ; and to his consort, Maria 
Louisa, were assigned the Duchies of Parma, Placentia, 
and Guastalla. On the 20th of the same month, Napo- 
leon began his journey to the isle of Elba, accompanied 
by four commissioners from the allied powers. 

Louis XVIIL embarked at Dover, and was joyfully wel- 
comed at Calais ; but in the capital, the acclamations of 
the loyal people produced no response from the soldiery. 
One of the first acts of Louis was to issue a declaration 
forming the basis of the constitutional charter, by which 
the liberties of the French nation were to be secured. 

Peace was concluded between France and the allied 
powers, Austria, Russia, Great Britain, and Prussia. By 
this treaty the continental dominions of France were, 
generally speaking, restricted to the hmits which bounded 
them on the 1st of January, 1792. Her colonies, with a 
few exceptions, were restored. England retained Malta, 
the Cape of Good Hope, and the small island of Heligo- 
land, besides some islands in the East and West Indies. 

In the beginning of June, the emperor of Russia and 
the king, of Prussia visited England, attended by marshal 
Blucher, the hetman Platoff, and other distinguished offi- 
cers. The visit of these illustrious strangers was celebra- 
ted in London, and other parts of the kingdom, with ex- 
traordinary rejoicing and festivity. 

The duke of WeUington's return was hailed with no 
less joy than the arrival of the allied sovereigns. On 
taking his seat for the first time in the house of lords, his 
various patents of honour, as baron, viscount, earl, mar- 
quis, and duke, were successively recited ; and the thanks 
of the house, which had been voted the evening before^ 



GEORGE in. 



Mere addressed to him by the lord chancellor. To sup- 
port these high honours, the sum of three hundred thou- 
sand pounds was voted for the purchase of a palace and 
domain suitable to his dignity. Proportionate honours and 
emoluments were assigned to his gallant companions in 
arms ; and generals Graham, Hill, and Beresford, were 
raised to the peerage. 

While peace was thus happily restored to Europe, the 
war between Great Britain and the United States of Ame- 
rica still raged with much animosity, devastation, and 
bloodshed. At length, however, on the 24th of De- 
cember, a treaty of pacification was effected be- ^'J^' 
tween the two countries at Ghent ; and for the first * 

time, after the period of a quarter of a century, with the 
exception of the feverish truce of Amiens, a general peace 
prevailed in both hemispheres, and for the present the 
temple of Janus was closed. 

The return of Bonaparte from Elba created a strong 
feeling throughout Europe. This extraordinary man landed 
m the south of France, with a few followers, on the 
1st of March, and was every where received with A.* ^* 
extravagant joy. On the 20th of the same month, ^^^^* 
Louis XVIII. fled from Paris, and on the evening of the 
same day, Napoleon entered that capital, and resumed the 
government. 

His first attempt was to conciliate the allies, to whom he 
proposed to maintain the peace which had been concluded 
with Louis at Paris ; but the allies rejected the proposition, 
and began immediately to put their armies in motion, with 
the avowed design of once more displacing him, and re- 
storing the Bourbons. The English and Prussians were 
first assembled in the Netherlands under Wellington and 
Blucher ; and Napoleon, at the head of 150,000 men, 
advanced against them, on the 1 2th of June. At Char- 
leroi, he encountered the Prussians, who, after great loss, 
iretreated upon Wavre, where they were followed by the 
French right wing under Grouchy. On the next day, the 
left division of the French army had a severe conflict with 
the English and Dutch at Quatre Bras, after which the 
British division retreated to Waterloo, where, meeting with 
re-enforcements, was fought one ofthe severest en- y 
gagements recorded in history. The French made ^^^ } ^ 
the attack about noon, and persevered with great ^^^^' 



^74 , HISTBRY OP ENGLANS. 

fury during the whole day. About four in the afternoou 
a Prussian army, under Bulow, arrived on the field, and 
assisted in checking the impetuosity of the French ; at 
seven o'clock, the remainder of the Prussians under 
Elucher arrived from Wavre ; and assaihng the French on 
their rear to the right, a general confusion in their army 
took place, and at nine o'clock they fled in disorder to- 
wards Charleroi, leaving 30,000 killed and wounded, and 
all their cannon and materials of war in the hands of the 
victors. 

The Prussians continued the pursuit throughout the 
night. On the side of the aUies, the total of killed and 
wounded was not inferior to that of the French, and among 
them were many officers of distinction, who had acquired 
great celebrity during the previous wars. 

The English and Prussian armies now advanced rapidly 
into France, and invested Paris, and in a few days the 
French provisional government entered into a convention. 
Louis XVIII., who in the interim had resided at Ghent, 
at the same time entered his capital ; and though there 
was still a considerable French force in the field and in 
garrisons, it was reduced to submission in a short time by 
the armies of Austria and Russia, which had also penetra- 
ted France. 

Meanwhile Bonaparte, who, after abdicating at Paris in 
favour of his son, had proceeded to Rochefortfor the pur- 
pose of embarking for America, finding it impracticable to 
elude the vigilance of the British cruisers, went voluntarily 
on board a British man-of-war, which immediately sailed 
for Torbay. The decision of the British government, in 
concert with the aUies, was, that he should be conveyed to 
the island of St. Helena, in the southern Atlantic, there 
to reside as a state prisoner, under the inspection of com- 
missioners appointed by each of the confederate powers. 

By the arrangements of the congress, to which lord 
Castlereagh was deputed on the part of the English 
government, the seven Ionian islands were placed under 
the protection of Great Britain ; to whose sovereign was 
also confirmed the title of king of Hanover. 

While these important events were passing in Europe, 
the arms of Britain had achieved some valuable conquests 
in Asia. A dispute had arisen between the East-India 
Company and the Nepaulese, concerning their boundaries'; 
and the Nepaulese, who were a brave and hardy race, en- 



GEORGE 111. 475 

"Ueavoured to force their pretensions by the sword ; but 
they were overcome by the British troops, directed by the 
marquis of Hastings, and the whole tract of territory in 
dispute was ceded to the East-India Company. 

An important revolution took place at this time in Cey- 
lon. The king of Candy, who possessed the interior of 
the island, having alienated the hearts of his subjects by a 
Sieries of cruelties, and provoked the hostility of his power- 
ful neighbours, was dethroned, and his family excluded 
from the crown. A treaty was signed in a solemn assem- 
bly of adikars and other chiefs of the provinces, by which 
the dominion of the Candian empire was vested in the 
king of Great Britain, with a reservation to those chiefs of 
<their rights and immunities. 

An event, which gave universal satisfaction, was the 
marriage of the princess Charlotte of Wales, pre- 
sumptive heiress to the British throne, to the prince |' ^'^ 
Leopold of Saxe-Coburg. A naval expedition was ^* 
this year undertaken against Algiers, which had refused to 
abolish christian slavery. The dey commenced hostilities 
by the seizure and imprisonment of the British vice-consul, 
and by a most horrible massacre of Christians engageS 
in the coral fishery at Bona. Lord Exmouth attacked Al- 
giers with a formidable armament ; and the dey, after a 
tremendous conflict, was compelled to accede to the terms 
of the English admiral. 

In England, great distress prevailed, particularly in the 
manufacturing districts, in which the people suffered from 
a depreciation of wages, consequent on an almost total 
stagnation of trade. The public mind was agitated by 
Fumours of plots and conspiracies ; and at Derby , a num- 
1)er of persons were tried for high treason, and three of 
them being found guilty, underwent the dreadful sentence 
of the law. 

The hopes founded on the happy union of the prince 
regent's only daughter with the prince of Cobourg, were 
fatally blighted on the 6th of November, by the 
death of that amiable princess, at a short period j*^,^' 
after her delivery of a still-born male infant, to the 
unspeakable grief of the royal family, and the general sor- 
row of the whole nation. 

After a long and severe illness, queen Charlotte, co^-- 

41 



176 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

aart of Gfeorge III., died on the nth of November> 
In consequence of her death, the duke of York 
1 P 1 R ^^^® appointed guardian of the king's person, ^yith 
a salary of ten thousand pounds a year. 

The spirit of discontent, which had already appeared in 

the manufacturing districts, now became alarming. A 

meeting of the people was held at Manchester, on the 1 6th 

erf August, for the purpose of petitioning for a reform in 

parliament, to the number of 60,000, carrying va- 

' . Q rious banners. Mr. Hunt, the chairman, and some 
* others, were arrested on the hustings, and a party 
of yeomanry cavalry beginning to strike down the banners, 
a scene of dreadful confusion arose ; numbers were tram- 
pled under the feet of men and horses ; many persons, 
even females, were cut down by sabres ; some were killed; 
and between three and four hundred were wounded and 
maimed. The interference of an armed yeomanry for the 
prevention rather than for the suppression of riot, produ- 
ced a strong sensation throughout the country ; and ad- 
dresses on this unfortunate affair were prepared in the 
principal cities and towns in the kingdom. 

At the close of the year, it was announced, that the 
bodily health of the king had partaken of some of the in- 
firmities of age ; and on Saturday, the 29th of January, 
at thirty-five minutes past eight in the evening, his 
f'^an majesty expired without a struggle, in the eighty- 
second year of his age. Thus terminated, in its 
sixtieth year, the reign of George the Third, a sovereign 
who deserved to be emphatically styled the father of his 
people. Their loyalty and affection were always consider- 
ed by him as the best and most permanent security of his 
throne ; and by his own example, he promoted among 
them the practice of those duties which alone could enable 
them to enjoy the blessings of civil and religious liberty 
as guarintied by the constitution. His habitual piety, 
and constant trust in Providence, greatly strengthened the 
natural courage and firmness which he possessed, and for 
which on occasions of personal danger, he was so emi- 
nently distinguished. If, in matters of state policy, he 
sometimes evinced a tenaciousness of purpose, which 
teemed to border on obstinacy, this must be attributed to 
liis strong] sense of the obligation under which he consx* 



OEORGE IV- 4-7"^ 

^Jfered himself bound, in discharge of the important trust 
committed to him. He was punctually assiduous in the 
exercise of his royal functions, and exemplary in the ful- 
filment of all the social duties. Temperance and exercise 
secured to him for a long period the enjoyment of unin- 
terrupted health. The English sceptre may have been 
swayed by sovereigns endowed with more splendid quali- 
ties than those of George the Third ; but it may be greatly 
doubted whether any of his predecessors, since Edward 
the Sixth, has borne his faculties so meekly, or been " so 
clear in his great office." 



CHAP. XXIV. 

The Reign of George IV. 

On the death of the late king, his eldest son, Georg^e 
prince of Wales, who, since the beginning of 1811, had 
acted as regent of the united kingdom, ascended the 
throne ; and, on the 3 1st of January, George the 
Fourth was publicly proclaimed. For nine years '^g' 
he had governed the kingdom ; and, during that " * 
time, the period had been irradiated with military renown. 
No sovereign, ancient or modern, can perhaps display, 
within so short a time, such a series of events as occurred 
during the exercise of the royal functions by the prince 
regent. When he took the reins of government, the situa- 
tion of Europe was adverse to the policy of Great Britain, 
and prospects were by no means cheering. The power 
of Napoleon seemed strongly consolidated by the subjuga* 
tion of the continent ; but scarcely was unrestricted au- 
thority given to the prince, than Napoleon undertook his 
gigantic and disastrous expedition into Russia, which led 
to corresponding reverses in Spain, and by successive vic- 
tories of the British and Spanish armies. 

About this time several obscure individuals, at the head 
of whom was Arthur Thistle wood, entered into a conspira- 
cy to assassinate the king's ministers, at a cabinet dinner, 
and for this purpose they met in a stable loft in Cato-streetj 
but the plot having been revealed to the privy-council by 
one who had been associated with them, for the purpose 
of betraying their designs, they were apprehended, and 
five of them were convicted and executed. 



478 HISTORY OF ENGXAN,2>. 

The unhappy differences that existed between the pre- 
sent sovereign and his royal consort, have been noticed 
in the preceding reign. In 1814, her royal highness em' 
barked at Worthing, and after paying a visit to her brother 
at the court of Brunswick, she proceeded to Italy, every 
where receiving the honours due to her rank. On the ap' 
proach of winter, she jfixed her residence at Naples. She 
afterwards travelled through various parts of the continent, 
visited Jerusalem and other towns of Palestine, as well as 
different places in the Mediterranean. 

On the accession of the present king, in consequence of 
the manner in which she had conducted herself after leaving 
England, her majesty's name was erased out of the liturgy: 
and she was informed, that if she returned to this country^, 
judicial proceedings would be instituted against her ; but 
if she would consent to live abroad, the sum of fifty thou- 
sand pounds a year would be allowed her. No soonerj 
however, was this proposition made to her, than the queen 
immediately proceeded to Calais, accompanied by lady 
Anne Hamilton and Mr. Alderman Wood ; and embark- 
ing on board a packet boat which lay in the harbour, she 
sailed for England, andon the 6th- of June landed at Dover, 
where she was greeted by acclamations of the populace. 

On the day of her majesty's arrival in London, the king 
sent a message to parliament, requesting that an inquiry 
into the queen's conduct might be instituted, and that 
certain papers containing the evidence which had been 
collected at Milan, might be examined. On this evidence; 
it was intended to found a bill of pains and penalties 
against the queen. After much discussion, a secret com- 
mittee of the house of lords was appointed to examine the 
documents ; and it was finally determined, that her ma- 
jesty should be tried by the peers of the realm. 

During the queen's trial, which continued for forty-five 
days, the public mind was violently agitated, and 
I R9n' ^^^ spirit of party extreme. It was urged against 
* the queen, that she had raised a favourite Italian 
in her employment from a menial station to one of rank 
and honour ; that she had permitted him to take familiari- 
ties with her ; that, having instituted a new order of 
knighthood, called " the order of St. Caroline," she had 
decorated him with its insignia ; and that she had other- 



OEORGE IV. 479 

wise demeaned herself in a manner unbecoming the cha- 
racter and conduct of a British princess. A very small 
majority of the lords having declared her guilty, the bill 
was, on the 10th of November, formally withdrawn. 

This year, revolutions took place both in Spain and 
Portugal, with little or no bloodshed ; and the despotic 
governments in the peninsula were changed for others of 
a more popular form. 

Napoleon, the ex-emperor of France, died on 
the 5th of May, in the island of St. Helena, where ^g^j 
he had been detained a close state prisoner since 
his surrender in 1815 to the English government. 

On the 19th of July, the ceremony of the coro- 
nation of George the Fourth took place in West- joqi 
minster abbey. The greatest preparations had been 
made to celebrate it with becoming splendour ; and Lon«" 
don never before contained such an assemblage of rank 
and fashion. This national ceremony was conducted with 
a magnificence never equalled on any former occasion^ 
and with a degree of order and decorum highly creditable, 
to those by whom the management was superintended. 

The reader has, therefore, been conducted in this vol- 
ume through a period of nearly tvvo thousand year5. 
Me found these islands inhabited by tribes of naked sava' 
GES, and leaves them in possession of the most civilized 
PEOPLE on earth, renowned in arts, arms, commerce, 

and AGRICULTURE. 

He has seen them a prey to Roman ambition ; while, 
during the last war, Rome itself was captured and occur 
pied even by a small division of British troops! He has 
beheld them without ships to oppose the invasions of the 
Romans, the Saxons, the Danes, and the Normans, and he 
now finds them great on every ocean ; and their com-^ 
mercial shipping covering all seas under the protection ejfr 
a flag every where respected. 

He found their rude population covered by chiefs of 
SMALL tribes or clans, and has beheld these extended 
to seven kingdoms in England, two in Wales, one In 
•Scotland, and three in Ireland ; till, after successive 
contests of power and patriotism, the whole have bwa 
united under one Sovereign, whose dominion reaches 
through numerous colonies to every clime in the fotjr 
i^iiarters of the world. 

41^ 



480 HISTORY OP ENGLAND, 

He was first introduced to such people as now inhabit 
THE WOODS of America, in a country equally covered with 
woods, and living in huts and caverns ; but in 1820j 
he finds a country of matchless cultivation, abound- 
ing in all social improvements, affording examples to 
other nations of the apcTs of life, and filled with splen- 
did cities, palaces, and public edifices. He finds 
pastures in places of forests , enclosed corn fields once 
barren heaths, and roads and canals uniting that coun- 
try, as one whole, which, in the commencement of this 
Jffiistory, was in every direction impassible. 

In place, too, of the arbitrary will of the strongest, and 
tlie law of the biost daring, he has traced the: gradual 
developement of a system of equal justice, and thfe heroic 
conquest of mind over brutal strength in the firm establish- 
ment of a POLITICAL constitution, which, when equally 
balanced in its three estates, will merit the admiration of 
the world, and the gratitude of the people who are its for- 
tunate subjects. 

Above all, he has seen the darkest superstitions of 
savage life yield successively to the lights of Christiani- 
ty — and the abuses of the Romish Church corrected by a 
reformed establishment, which tolerating every variety 
of opinion, enables all to enjoy perfect freedom of con- 
science, and corresponding modes of worship. 

During this glorious career of humanity, the destines of 
the nation have been directed by branches of the same 
family. From Hengist, who married the daughter of 
Vortigern, we trace this family to Edmond Ip.onside : 
and from him, amid various struggles of virtue and vice, 
though the Norman, Plantagenet, Tudor, and Stuart 
families, down to the reigning House of Gueleh in the 
person of George the Fourth. 



the end. 



* * Five hundred questions have been prepared, to 
adapt this volume to the Interrogative System of Ink 
struction. 



APPENDIX. 

I. 

SVCCSSSXON OF SOVEHSX^NS. 



THE SAXON HEPTARCHY. 

The kingdom of Kent contained only the county of KenI ; its 

kings were, 



1 Heng-ist, began - - 454 

2 Eske ----- 488 

3 Octa ----- 512 

4 Ymbrick - - - - 534 

5 Ethelbert - _ - 568 

6 Edbald - - - - 616 

7 Ercombert - - - 640 

8 Egbert - - - _ 664 

9 Lothaire - _ - - 673 



12 



10 Edrick _ - - - 684 

11 Withdred- - - - 685- 
Eadbert and ) -c»i? 
Edelbert \ " ^^^ 

13 Ethelbert alone - - 743 

14 Adric ----- 76« 

15 Ethelbert Pren - - 794' 

16 Cudred _ - - - 799 

17 Baldred - - - - 805 



This kingdom began 454, ended 823. Its first Christian king was 

Ethelbert. 



The kingdom of South Saxons contained the counties of Su^sfis"^ 
and Surrey ; its kings were, 



611 



- - - 643 



1 Ella, began - - - 491 ^ ^ Cinigsil 
S Cissa -----514 ^ '^ Quicelm 

3 Chevelin - - - - 590 1 7 Canowalch 

4 Ceolwic - - - - 592 8 Adehvach 

5 Ceoluph - - - - 597 

This kingdom began 491, ended 685. Its first Christian kifig- 
was Adelwach. 



The kingdom of East Saxons contained the counties of Essex 
and Middlesex ; its kings were. 



Erchenwin, began 
Sledda. _ - - 
Sebert 
( Sexred 
< Seward 
f Sigebert 
Sigebert the Little 
Sigebert the Good 
Swithelme - - 



I - - 



527 

587 
598 

616 

623 
653 
655 



8 Sighere and Sebbi 

9 Sebbi - _ _ . 
,^ { Sigherd and ) 
^" ( Seofrid ( 

11 Offa - - - _ ^ 

12 Ceolfred - - - - 

13 Suithred - - - - 

14 Sigered - - - - 



- 665^ 

- 693 

- 694 

- 700 

- 70^ 

746 
799 



This kingdom began 527, ended 827. 

was Sebert. 



Its first Christian kiUff' 



4S2 



HISTORY or ENGLAND. 



The king-dora of Northumberland contained Yorkshire, Durham, 
Lancashire, Westmoreland, Cumberland, and Northumber- 
land ; its kings were, 

1 Ella, or Ida, began - 547 

2 Adda - _ _ _ - 559 

3 Clappea - - - - 665 

4 Theodwald - - - 572 

5 Fridulph - - - - 573 

6 Theodorick - - - 579 

7 Athelrick - - - 586 

8 Athelfrid - - - 593 

9 Edwin - _ - - 617 

10 Osric - ----- 633 

11 Oswald - - - - 634 

12 Oswy - - - - 643 

13 Ethelward - - - 653 

14 Egfrid - - - -670 

15 Alkfryd - - - - 685 

16 Osredl. - - - - 705 
This kingdom began 547, ended 827. 

was Edwin. 



17 Cenred - - - 


„ 


716 


18 Osrick - - - 


— 


718 


19 Ceolulphe - - 

20 Egbert - - - 

21 Oswulph - - - 

22 Edildwald - - 


- 


730 

737 
758 
759 


23 Alured - - - 


— 


765 


24 Atheldred - - 


_ 


774 


25 Alswald I. - - 


_ 


779 


26 Osredll, - - 


— 


789 


27 Ethelred restored 


— 


790 


28 Osbald - - - 


— 


796 


29 Ardulph - - - 

30 Aswald II. - - 


- 


797 
SOT 


31 Andred - - - 


— 


810 



Its first Christian king 



The kingdom of Mercia contained the counties of Huntingdon, 
Rutland, Lincoln^ Northampton, Leicester, Derby, Notting- 
ham, Oxford, Chester, Salop, Gloucester, Worcester, Stafford, 
Warwick, Buckingham, Bedford, andHertford. Its kings were. 



1 Creda, began - 

2 Wibba - - - - 

3 Cheorlas - - - 

4 Penda - - - - 

5 Peada _ - - - 

6 Wolfhere - - - 

7 Ethelred - - - 

8 Kenred - - - - 
Ceolred _ - - - 

This kingdom began 582, 



585 
595 
616 
625 
656 
659 
675 
704 
709 



10 Ethelbald - - 



716 



11 Offa ----- 757 



12 Egfryd - 

13 Cenolf - 

14 Kenelme 

15 Ceolwolf - 

16 Burnulf - 

17 Ludecan - 

18 Widafe - 



794 
79^ 
819 
819 
821 
823 
825^ 



ended 827. 
was Peada. 



Its first Christian king- 



The kingdom of East Angles contained the counties of Suffoll^ 
Norfolk, Cambridge, and the isle of Ely ; its kings were, 

1 Uffa, began " 

2 Titillus - 

3 Redwald - 

4 Erpinwald 

5 Sigebert - 

) Annas \ 
Ethelhere 



575 

- - - 578 

- ~ - 599 

- - - 624 

- - - 636 

_ ^ _ 644 

- - - 654 



8 Ethwald - ~ 

9 Adwulf - - 
10 Alswald - - 

Beorna Smd ) 
Ethelbert 5 

12 Beorna alone 

13 Ethelred - - 

14 Ethelbert - - 



11 



659 

- - 664 

- - 68t5 

- - 749 



758 
761 
79e 



-tTfais Idagdom began 575, ended 792. Its first Ctristiaa king" 

wa« Redwald. 



APPENDIX. 483 

T}i£ klngfiani of West Saxons contained the counties of Corn* 
wall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Wilts, Hants, and Berks ; ils- 
kings were, 

I Cherdic, began - - 519 .r. < Censua, Escwm, ) g-^ 
3 Kenrick - - - ^ 5M ( and Centwm J 



3 Chevline - - - -^ 569 

4 Ceolric - - - - 592 
d Ceoluph - - - - 598 
„ ^ Kinffills ) ^,, 
^ iQuiSthelin^ - - 611 
7 Ceonowalch - - - 643 
•8 Adelwalch - _ - 648 
9 Sexburg-a _ _ _ 672 



11 Ceadwald - ~ - 686 

12 Ina _ _ - ^ - 688- 

13 Adelard - - ~ - 726 

14 Cudred - - ^ - 740 
, ^ i Sigebert and ) „rA 

16 Brithrick - - - - 784 

17 Egbert - - _ _ 800 
This kingdom began 519, ended 828. Its first Christian kiag 

was Kingills. 
The Saxons, though they were divided into seven kingdoms^ 

were, for the most part, subject only to one monarch, who was 

styled king of the English nation ; the most powerful giving the 

Jaw unto the others, and succeeded as follows : 

HENGIST, first monarch of Britain, landed in the Isle of 
Thanet, 449 ; laid the foundation of the monarchy in 455 ; de- 
feated Vortimer at Crayford, in Jan. 457 ; massacred 300 Bri- 
tish nobles on Salisbury plain, May 1, 474. He bore in his 
standard the white horse, blazoned m the same manner as now 
borne by the dukes of Brunswick. He was born at Angria, ia 
Westphalia, reigned 34 years, died in 484. 

ELLA, second monarch, landed at Shoreham, in Sussex, in 477 1 
assumed the title Of king- of the South Saxous, in 491 ; died iU- 
499. 

CHERDIC, third monarch, arrived in Britain, and overcam© 
Arthur, near Chard, in Somersetshire, 519; began the king- 
dom of the West Saxons the same year ; died in 534. 

KENRICK, second king of the West Saxons, fourth monarch} 
eldest son of Cherdic, succeeded in 534 ; and died in 560. 

CHEVELINE, third king of the West Saxons, and fifth mon- 
arch, succeeded his father, 560 ; seized on Sussex in 599 ; ab-< 
dicated in 591 ; and died, in banishment, in 592. 

ETHELBERT I., fifth king of Kent, and sixth monarch, in 592 i- 
St. Augustine first arrived in his dominions, who, with his fol- 
lowers, were entertained by the king at Canterbury, where 
they settled ; to whose doctrine Ethelbert became a convert. 
He gave Augustine an idol temple, without the walls of the 
city, as a burial place for him and his successors, which was 
converted into the first monastery. The king was the first that 
caused the laws of the land to be collected and translated int© 
Saxon. He died Feb. 24, 617, and was buried at Canterbury. 

REDWALD, third king of the East Angles, seventh monarch, 
616; he died 624. 

EDWIN the Great, king of Northumberland, succeeded as 
eighth monarch in 624. He was the first Christian, and the 
second king of Northumberland. He lost his life in a battle 
at Hatfield, Oct. 3, 633. 



484 HISTORY OP ENGLAND, 

OSWALD, third king of Northumberland, and ninth monard^r 
634. He was slain at Maserfield, in Shropshire, Aug. 1,642. 

OS WY, fourth king of Northumberland, tenth monarch, on 0<it* 
13, 634. He defeated Penda, the Mercian, and Ethelred, king* 
of the East Angles, Nov. 6, 655. He died Feb. 15, 670. 

WOLFHERE, sixth king of the Mercians, eleventh monarchy 
in 670 ; died 674, and was buried as Petersborough. 

ETHELRED, seventh king of Mercia, and twelfth monarch, in 
675. He desolated part of Kent, and, in 677, destroyed Roches- 
ter, and many religious foundations ; to atone for which he be- 
came a monk, 703, and died abbot of Bradney, in 716. 

CENRED, his nephew, eighth king of Mercia, and thirteenth 
monarch, in 704, reigned four years, and following his uncle's 
example, became a monk. 

CEOLRED, son to Ethelred, ninth king of the Mercians, and 
fourteenth monarch, in 709, was killed in battle with the West 
Saxons in 716 ; and was buried at Litchfield. 

ETHELBALD I., tenth king of the Mercians, fifteenth monarch, 
in 716 ; built Croyland abbey, in Lincolnshire. He was slain 
by his own subjects, when he was leading his troops against 
Cuthred, the West Saxon, at Secondine, three miles from ^ 
Tamworth, in Warwickshire, and was buried at Repton, in 
Derbyshire, in 756. 

OFF A, the eleventh king of the Mercians, and the sixteenth mo- 
narch, 756. He was born lame, deaf, and blind, which con- 
tinued till he arrived at manhood. He took up arms against 
Kent, slew their king at Otteford, and conquered that kingdom. 
He caused a great trench to be dug from Bristol to Basing- 
werk, in Flintshire, as the boundary of the Britons, who har- 
boured in Wales, 774. Offa first ordained the sounding of 
trumpets before the kings of England, to denote their appear- 
ance, and require respect. He admitted his son, Egfryd, a 
partner in his sovereignty ; and, out of devotion, paid a visit to 
Rome, where he made his kingdom subject to a tribute, then 
called Peter-pence, and procured the canonization of St. Ah 
ban. At his return he built St. Alban's monastery, in Hertford- 
shire, 793. He died at Offley, June 29, 794, and was buried 
at Bedford, in a chapel since swallowed up by the river Ouse. 

EGFRYD, twelfth king of the Mercians, and seventeenth mo- 
narch, July 13, 794; but died Dec. 17 following, a;nd was bu- 
ried at St. Alban's. 

CENOLE, thirteenth king of the Mercians, and eighteenth mo- 
narch, in 795. He conquered Kent, and gave that kingdom to 
Cudred, 798. He built Winchcomb monastery, in Glouces- 
tershire, where he led the captive Prince, Pren, to the altar, 
and released him without ransom or entreaty. He died in 819, 
and was buried at Winchcomb. 

EGBERT, seventeenth king of the West Saxons, and nineteenth, 
but first sole monarch, of the English. He conquered Kent, 
and laid the foundation of the sole monarcliy in 823, which put 
an end to the Saxon heptarchy, and was solemnly crowned at 
Winchester ; wheri, by his edict, he ordered all the south of 



the Mand to be called England, 827. He died Feb. 4, 837-, 
and was buried at Winchester. 

^THELWOLF, eldest son of Egbert, succeeded his father, not- 
withstanding, at the time of Egbert's death, he was bishop of 
Winchester. In 846 he ordained tithes to be collected, and 
exempted the clergy from regal tributes. He visited Rome in 
847, confirming the grant of Peter-pence, and agreed to pay- 
Home 300 marks per annum. His son Ethelbald obliged him 
to divide the sovereignty with him, 836. He died Jan. 13, 857, 
and was buried at Winchester. 

V.THELBALD II., eldest son of Ethelwolf, succeeded in 857. 
He died Dec. 20, 860, and was buried at Sherborn, but re- 
moved to Salisburj*. 

ETHELBERT II., second son of Ethelwolf, succeeded in 860. 
and was harassed greatly by the Danes, who were repulsed and 
vanquished. He died in 866, was buried at Sherborn, and was 
succeeded by 

•GTHELRED I., third son of Ethelwolf, in 866, when the Danes 
again harassed his kingdom. In 889, they destroyed the mo- 
nasteries of Bradney, Crowland, Peterborough, Ely, and Hunt- 
ingdon, when the nuns of Coldingham defaced themselves to 
avoid their pollution ; and, in East Anglia, they murdered Ed- 
mund, at Edmunflsbury, in Suffolk. Ethelred overthrew the 
Danes, 871, at Assendon. He had nine set battles with the 
Danes in one year, and was wounded at Wittingham, which 
Mcasioned his death, April 27, 872, and was buried at Win- 
borne, in Dorsetshire. 

'■iLFRED, the fourth son of Ethelwolf, succeeded in 872, in the 
22d year of his age ; was crowned at Winchester, and is dis- 
tinguished by the title of Alfred the Great. He was born at 
Wantage, in Berkshire, 849, and obliged to take the field 
against the Danes within one month after his coronation, at 
Wilton, in Oxfordshire. He fought seven battles with them 
in 876. In 877 another succour of Danes arrived, and Alfred 
was obliged to disguise himself in the habit of a shepherd, in 
ihe isle of Alderney, in the county of Somerset, till, in 878, 
collecting his scattered friends, he attacked and defeated them 
m 879, when he obliged the greatest part of their army to quit 
the land ; in 897 they went up the river Lea, and built a for- 
tress at Ware, where king Alfred turned oft' the course of the 
river, and left their ships dry, which obliged the Danes tore* 
move. He died Oct. 28, 901. 

•EDWARD the Elder, his son, succeeded him, and was crowned 
at Kingston-upon-Thames, in 901. In 91J, Leolin, prince of 
Wales, did homage to Edward for his principality. He died at 
Farringdon, in Berkshire, in 924, and was buried at Winches- 
ter. 

xVTHELSTAN, his eldest son, succeeded him, and was crowned 
with far greater magnificence than usual, at Kingston-upon- 
Thames, in 929. In 938 he defeated two Welsh princes, but 
soon after, on their making submission, he restored them their 
estates. He escaped being assassinated in his tent, 938; which 



486 HISTdRY OF ENGLAND. 

he revenged by attacking the enemy, when five petty SWG^ 
yeigtis, twelve dukes, and an army who came to the assistance 
of Analf, king" of Ireland, were slain ; which battle was fought 
near Dunbar, in Scotland. He made the princes of Wales tri- 

. brutary, 939 ; and died Oct. 17, 940, at Gloucester. 

EDMUND I., the fifth son of Edward the Elder, succeeded at 
the ag-e of 18, and was crowned king at Kingston-upon- 
Thames, 940. On May 26, 947, in endeavouring to part two 
who were quarrelling, he received a wound, of which he bled 
to death, and was buried at Glastonbury. 

EDRED, his brother, aged 28, succeeded in 947, and was crown- 
ed at Kingston-upon-Thames, the 17th of August. He died ill 
955, and was buried at Winchester. 

'EDWY, the eldest son of Edmund, succeeded, and was crowned 
at Kingston-upon-Thames, in 955. He had great dissensions 
with the clergy, and banished Dunstan, their ringleader, which 
occasions little credit to be given to the character the priests 
give him. He died of grief in 959, after a turbulent reign of 
four years, and was buried at Winchester. 

•EDGAR, at the age of 16, succeeded his brother, and was crowa* 
ed at Kingston-upon-Thames, in 959, and again at Bath, 972» 
He imposed upon the princes of Wales a tribute of wolves' 
"heads, that for three years amounted to 30O each year. He 
obliged eight tributary princes to row him in a barge on the 
river Dee, in 974. He died July 1, 975, and was buried at 
Glastonbury. 

'EDWARD the Martyr, his eldest son, succeeded him, being but 
16 years of age ; was crowned by Dunstan, at Kingston-upon» 
Thames, in 975. He was stabbed by the instructions of his 
mother-in-law, as he was drinking at Corfe-castle, in the isle 
of fPurbeck, in Dorsetshire, on March 18, 979. He was first 
buried at Wareham, without any ceremony, but renK)ved three, 
years after, in great pomp, to Shaftesbury. 
"ETHELRED II. succeeded his half-brother, and was crowned 
at Kingston-upon-Thames, on April 14, 979. In 982, his 
palace, with great part of London, was destroyed by a great 
fire. England was ravaged by the Danes, who, in 999, re- 
ceived at one payment about 16,000Z. raised hj a land-tax call- 
ed Danegelt. A general massacre of the Danes, on Nov. 1 3» 
1002. Swein revenged his countrymen's deaths, 1003, and did 
aot quit the kingdom till Ethelred had paid him 36,000/. which 
he the year following demanded as an annual tribute. In the 
spring of 1008 they subdued great part of the kingdom. To 
Stop their progress, it was agreed to pay the Danes 48,000/. to 
quit the kingdom, 1012. In the space of twenty years they had 

I 469,687Z. sterling. Soon after Swein entered the Humber again, 
when Ethelred retired to the Isle of Wight, and sent his sons> 
with their mother Emma, into Normandy, to her brother, and 
Swein took possession of the whole kingdom, 1013. 

SWEIN was proclaimed king of England in 10 13, and no persop 
disputed bis title. His first act of sovereignty was a» insup* 



APPENDIX. 48^ 

portable tax, %vhich he did not live to see collected. He die<5 
Feb. 3, 1014, at Thetford, in Norfolk. 

CANUTE, his son, was proclaimed March, 1014, and endeav- 
oured to gain the affections of his English subjects, but without 
success, retired to Denmark, and 

ETHELRED returned, at the invitation of his subjects. Canute 
returned, 1015, soon after he had left England, and landed at 
Sandwich. Ethelred retired to ihe north, but by evading a 
battle with the Danes, he lost the affections of his subjects, and 
retiring to London, he expired April 24, 1016. 

EDMUND IRONSIDE, his son, was crowned at Kingston- 
upon-Thames, April, 1016 ; but by a disagreement among the 
nobility, Canute was also crowned at Southampton. In June 
following, Canute totally routed Edmund, at Assendon, in Es- 
sex, who soon after met Canute in the Isle of Alderney, in the 
Severn, where a peace was concluded, and the kingdom divided 
between them. Edmund did not survive above a month after, 
being murdered at Oxford, Nov. 30, 1016, before he had reign- 
ed a year. He left two sons and two daughters ; from one of 
which daughters James I. of England descended, and from 
him George IV. 

CANUTE was established' 1017; made an alliance with Nor- 
mandy, and married Emma, Ethelred's widow, 1018 ; made a 
voyage to Denmark, attacked Norway, and took possession of 
the crown, 1028; died at Shaftesbury, 1036; and was burieA 
at Winchester. 

HAROLD I. his son, began his reign, 1036 ; died April 14, 1039 j 
and was succeeded by his younger brother, 

HARDICANUTE, king of Denmark, who died at Lambeth, 
1041 ; Was buried at New Winchester, and succeeded by a son 
of Queen Emma, by her first husband, Ethelred II. 

EDWARD the Confessor, was born at Islip, in Oxfordshire, be- 
gan his reign in the 40th year of his age. He was crowned at 
Winchester, 1042; married Editha, daughter of Godwin, earl 
of Kent, 1043; remitted the tax of Danegelt, and was the first 
king of England that touched for the king's evil, 1058; dieS 
Jan. 5, 1066, aged 65; was buried in Westminster-abbey,, 
which he rebuilt, where his bones were enshrined in gold, set 
with jewels, 1206. Emma, his mother, died 1052. He wz^s 
succeeded by 

HAROLD II. son of the earl of Kent, who began in I0G6; de- 
feated by his brother Tosti and the king of Norway, who had 
invaded his dominions at Stamford, Sept. 25, 1066; but was 
killed by the Normans at Hastings, Oct. 14 following. 



4S 



SOVEHSZO^K^S FROlMt THS CONQUSST. 



KiDgs' Names. 



Began tfeeir 
Reign. 



Reigned 
Y. M. D. 



Age. 



Deaths. 



Where 
buried. 



Norman Family, 



W. Conq. 


1066 Oct. 


14 


20 10 26 


60 


Burst leap. 


Caen. 


\V. RufuB 


1087 Sept. 


9 


12 10 24 


43 


Slain accidental- 


Winchester. 


He cry .... 1 


1000 Aug. 


2 


35 3 29 


67 


ly- 


Reading. 


Stephen 


1135 Dec. 


1 


18 10 24 


49 


„,, 


Feversham. 



The Saxon Line restored. 



Henry . , 
Richard . 
John 
Henry • 
l^dward 



1154 Oct. 

1189 July 

1199 April 

1216 Oct. 

. 1 1272 Nov. 



■Edward 2 

Edward 3 

Richard 2 



1307 July 
1327 Jan. 
1377 June 



25-1 


34 


8 


11 


£5 




Fontevrault. 


6 


9 


9 





43 


Slain with an ar- 


Fontevrault. 


6 


17 


6 


13 


50 


row. 


Worcester. 


19 


56 





28 


65 




Westminster. 


16 


34 


T 


21 


67 




Westminster. 


7 


19 


6 


18 


43 


Deposed and 


Gloucester. 


25 


.% 


4 


27 


65 


murdered. 


Westminster. 


21 


22 


3 


8 


33 


Dep. and mur. 


Westminster. 



The Family of Lancaster. 



Henry 
Henry , 
Henry 



4 


1399 Sept. 29 


13 


5 20 


46 




Canterbury. 


.... 6 


1413 March 20 


9 


5 11 


33 




Westminster. 


6 


1422 Aug. 3l 


38 


6 4 


49 


Dep. and mur. 


1 Windsor. 



The Family of York. 



■Edward 4 

IJdward 5 

JXichard 3 



1451 March 
1483 April 
14S3 June 



41 

12 j Smothered. 

42 J In Battle. 



Windsor. 

Tower. 

il^cester. 



The Families United. 



Henry 7 

Henry 8 

Edward 6 

Q,. Mary 
1^. Elizabeth 



1485 Ang. 
1509 April 
1547 Jan. 
1553 July 

1558 Nov. 



22 



23 8 I 52 

37 9 6 55 

6 5 8 I 15 

5 4 11 I 42 

44 4 7 69 



House of Stuart. 



Jiiaos 1 

Charles 1 

f^arles 2 

.Tames 2 

Will, and Mary 
'^. Anne 



1603 March 
1625 March 
1649 Jan. 
1685 Feb. 
1689 Feb. 
1702 March 






3 


58 


10 


3 


48 





7 


54 





7 


67 





23 


32 


4 


24 


49 



Beheaded. 
Abdicated. 



House ofGuelp!}.. 



ij^orge 1 

(Jorge 2 

GU)rge 3 

'jNoTge ..... 4 



1714 Aug; I 

• 1727 June II 

ITBO Oct. 25 

1820 Jan. 31 



12 10 10 


67 


S3 4 5 


77 


59 3 14 


88 


Crowned Ju 


l)r 19, 1821 



Westminster. 
Windsor, 
Westminster. 
Westminster. 

Westminster* 



iWestminste'r. 
Windsor. 
I Westminster. 
Paris. 
I Westminster. 
{ Weetminster. 



'■ Hanover. 
Westminster, 
Windsor. 



<■!% I 



APPENDIX, ^^^ 



II. 

EMINENT AND REMARKABLE PERSONS WHO 
HAVE FLOURISHED IN BRITAIN. 

Abercromby, sir Ralph, killed in Egypt, 1801. 

Addison, Joseph, born 1672, died June 17, HI 9. 

Akenside, Dr. Mark, born 1721, died June 23, 17 iO. 

Alban, St. the first English martyr, died 303. 

Anson, admiral, died i 762, aged 62. . .' . . ... 

Arkwright, sir Richard, inventor of the spinning jennies, died 
August 2, 1792. 

Arne, Michael, the musician, died 178o. 

Bacon, Roger, born 1214, died 1294. 

1 Francis, lord Verulam, sent to the tower, 1622 ; died, 

April 9, 1626, aged 57. 

Becket, Thomas, chancellor to Henry II. 1157 ; made archbish- 
op of Canterbury, 1162 ; murdered in the cathedral church 
at Canterb*y, Dec. 29, 1 170. 

Berkeley, bishop of Cloyne, died 1753, aged 73. 

Bernard, sir John, died 1 764, aged 80. 

Blackstone, Judge, born 1723, died Feb. 14, 1780. 

Blair, Dr. Hugh, died Dec. 27, 1800, aged 83. 

Blake, admiral, born 1589, died 1657. 

Bolingbroke, lord, died 1751, aged 73. 

Boulton, Matthew, the machinist, born 1728, died Sept. 1809. 

Boyle, Robert, the philosopher, died 1691, aged 65. 

Bruce, Robert, Scottish general and king, died 1329. 

Buckingham, duke of, kiUed at Portsmouth by Felton, Aug. 23; 
1628, aged 35. 

Bunyan, John, born 1628, died 1688. 

Burke, Edmund, died July 8, 1797, aged 68. 

Burleigh, lord Exeter, 1560, died 1598. 

Burnet, bishop of Sarum, born 1643, died 1715. 

Butler, Samuel, author of Hudibras, born 16 12, died 1680. 

Camden, the historian, died Nov. 2, 1623, aged 72. 

Caxton, Wilham, the first printer in England, 1474, died 149J> 
aged 70. 

Chaucer, GeofFry, born 1328, died 1409. 

Chicheley, Henry, archbishop of Canterbury, died 1443. 

Churchill, Rev. Charles, born 1731, died 1764. 

Clarendon, Hyde, earl of, born 1612 ; banished Dec. 12, 1667 , 

diedDec. 7, 1674. 
Clarke, Rev Dr. Samuel, born 1675, died May 17, 1729. 
Coke, lord chief justice, born 1549, died 1634. 
C ongreve, William, born 1752, died 1729. 
Cook, captain James, the navigator, born Oct. 27, 1728 ; EUIed 
Feb. 14, 1779. 



i90 HISTORY OF ENGLAN^D. 

Gornwallis, marquis K. G. born 1738, died in India, T{?05. 

Cowley, Abraham, born 1618, died 1667. 

Cowper, William, poet, died 1800. 

Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, born 1489, burnt at Oxfor*^. 

March 21, 1556. 
Cromwell, lord, beheaded July 28, 1540. 
Defoe, Daniel, political writer, died 1731. 
Drake, sir Francis, born 1545 ; set sail on his voyage round the 

world, 1577 ; died Jan. 28, 1595. 
Dryden, John, born August 9, 1613, died May 1, 1700. 
Evelyn, John, natural philosopher, born 1629, died 1706. 
Fairfax, sir Thomas, born 1644, died 1671. 

Fielding, Henry, English writer, born 1707, died 1754, aged 4*^ 
Flamstead, John, astronomer, born 1646, died 1719. 
Foote, Samuel', died Oct. 21, J 777, aged 56. 
Fox, George, founder of the Quakers, died 1681. 
Garrick, David, born at Hereford, 1716, died Jan. 20, 1779. 
Gay, John, English poet, died 1 732. 
Gibbs, James, architect, died 1 754. 
Glover, Richard, English writer, born 1712, died 1785. 
Goldsmith, Oliver, born 1731, died April 4, 1774. 
Gray, Thomas, the poet, born 1716, died July 30, 1771. 
Gresham, sir Thomas, died 1580. 
Hale, sir Matthew, born 1609, died Dec. 25, 16ffe. 
Hampden, John, born 1594, killed in battle June 24, 1643. 
Holinshed, the historian, died 1 580. 
Home, John, born 1 724, died Sept. 4, 1808. 
Hotspur, Henry Percy, killed July 22, 1 403. 
Howard, Mr. the philanthropist, born about 1725, died Jan. 20> 

1790. 
Howe, lord viscount, slain in America, July 8, 1758, aged 34. 
Hume, David, philosopher and historian, born 1711, died Aug. 

25, 1776. 
Hogarth, William, died 1765, aged 64. 
Johnson, Dr. Samuel, born Sept. 18, 1709, died Dec. 14, 1784, 

aged 78, 
Jones, Inigo, the celebrated architect, born 1572, died 1651. 

; — , sir William, died in Bengal, April 27, 1797, aged 47. 

Knox, John, the reformer, born 1505, died 1572. 

Latimer, bishop of Worcester, burnt at Oxford, Oct. 1555. 

Leland, John, the antiquarian, died 1552, aged 45. 

Lowth, Dr. Robert, bishop of London, learned writer, died 

1787. 
Lucius, the first Christian king of Britain, reigned 77 years. 

founded the firstchurch in London, at St. Peter's, CornhilL 

179. 
Lydgate, John, the historian, lived in 1440. 
Macklin, Mr. Charles, the comedian, died July 11, 1797, aged 

97. 
Maitland, William, the historian, died 1 757. 
Mallet, David, dramatic author, died 1 765. 
Marlborough, John, duke of, died June 16, 1722, aged 72« 
Marvel, Andrew, the patriotjborn 1620, died, 1678. 



. APPE^'DiX. 4j)l 

Maskelyne, Neville, English astronomer, died 1772. 
Maskelvne, Rev. Nevil, astronomer royal, born Oct. 6, 172^," 

died Feb. 9, 1811. 
IMonk, g-eneral, born 1608, died January 4, 1669-70. 
Monmouth, duke of, beheaded 1685, aged 35. 
Moore, sir John, killed in the battle of Corunna, Jan. 16, 1BQ% 
More, sir Thomas, born 1480, beheaded July 6, 1535, aged 55. 
Mozart, Wolfang Amadous, musical composer, born Jan. 27, 

175G, died Dec. 5, 1792. 
Murphy, Arthur, died June 18, 1803, aged 77. 
Nelson, adm. lord viscount, duke of Bronte, killed in battle 

in the glorious victory off Trafalgar, Oct. 21, 1805, buried 

at the public expense, in St. Paul's cathedral, Jan. 10, 

1806. 
Newton, Sir Isaac, born Dec. 25, 1642, died Blarch 20, 1726-7. 
Northumberland, Dudley, beheaded for attempting to put Ladj 

Jane Grey on the English throne, 1553. 
Oldcastle, Sir John, hanged and burnt without Temple-bstr, 

1418 ; the first protestant martyr. 
Ormond, duke of, impeached June 21, 1715 ; retired to Francjfe 

August following : died in France, and was buried May 2^^ 

1749. , * 

Ossian flourished as a poet in 300. 
Palliser, Sir Hugh, died March 19, 1796, aged 75. 
Paris, Matthew, the historian, died 1259. 
Partridge, John, the astrologer, born 1644, died 1715. 
Perceval, Spencer, prime minister of England, assassinafed 

May 11, 1812. 
Pitt, William, earl of Chatham, died May 11, 1778, aged 70, an^ 

buried at the public expense in Westminster Abbey, June 

9, following. 
, William, son of the foregoing, and prime minister ot 

England, died January 23, 1806. 
Plot, Dr. Robert, antiquarian and historical writer, born 1641^ 

died 1696. • 
Pomfret, Rev. Mr. the poet, died young, 1709. 
Pope, Alexander, the poet, died 1744, aged 55. 
Pretender, the old, born June 10, 1688, died 1776. 
, the young, his son, born Nov. 31, 1720, died January 31 , 

1788, without male issue. ^ 

Prior, Matthew, died Sept. 18, 1721, aged 56. 
Raleigh, sir Walter, beheaded October 29, 1618, aged 65. 
Randolph, Thomas, English historian, born 1605, died 1634. 
Rapin, de Thoyras, English historian, died. May 16, 1725, age4 

64. 
Richardson, Samuel, moral writer, died 1761, aged 72. 
Russel, lord William, beheaded July 21, 1683. 
Reynolds, sir Joshua, died Feb. 24, 1 792, aged 69. 
S"acheverel, Rev. Dr. silenced, March 23, 1710, died 1723. 
S'ancroft, archbishop of Canterbury, born 1616; coramitfed to 

the Tower, tried, and acquitted, 1688 ; deprived, 1689 ; 

died Nov. 26, 1693, aged 77. 
Syden, John, born 1584, died Oct. 30, 1654. 

42* 



492 HISTORY OF ENGLANI^* 

Shakspeare, born 1564, died April 3, 1616. 

Sharp, Granville, one of the first who set on foot the inq.uiry into 

the African Slave Trade, died April 3, 1616. 
Shenstone, William, English poet and miscellaneous writer, diett 

1 763. 
Sheridan, Richard Brinsley, born Oct. 1751, died July 7, 1816, 
Shovel, sir Cloudsley, lost on the rocks of Scilly, Oct. 2S, 1707. 

aged 56. 
Sidney, sir Philip, born 1554, killed in battle Sept. 22, 1586, 

— , Algernon, beheaded Dec. 7, 1683. 

Smollet, Dr. Tobias, the historian, died Sept. 17, 1771. 

Spelman, sir Henry, the antiquarian, died 1641, aged 80. 

Spence, Thomas, political economist, died Oct. 1814. 

Spencer, the poet, born i5!0, died 1598. , 

Steele, sir Richard, died September 1 , 1 729, aged 53. 

Stillingfleet, bishop of Worcester, died 1699. 

Temple, sir William, died January, 1699, aged 69. 

Thomson, James, died Aug. 27, 1748, aged 71. 

Thurlow, lord, died Sep. 12, 1806, aged 71. 

Tillotson, archbishop of Canterbury, died 1694, aged 63, 

Tooke, John Home, born 1736, died March 18, 1812. 

Trenchard, John, born 1662, died 1723. 

Tyler, Wat, the rebel, killed, 1381. 

VernoUj admiral, died 1 757, aged 73. 

Walker, the Rev. Mr., defended Londonderry, 1689;. slain at 

the battle of the Boyne, 1 690. - 
Wallace, sir William, eminent Scotch general, killed 1304. 
Waller, Edmund, English poet, died 1 687, aged 81. 
Walpole, sir Robert, earl of Oxford, born 1674 ; died 1745. 
Warwick, earl of, the king-maker, defeated and slain at the bat- 
tle of Barnet, April 14, 146!. 
Watts, Dr. Isaac, born 1673, died 1748. 
West, James, the antiquarian, died July 2, 1772. 
WhitlDread, Samuel, died by his own hand, July 6, 1815. 
WicklifFe, opposed the pope's supremacy, 1377 : died 1384 ; ani 

40 years after burnt for being a heretic. 
Wilkes, John, the patriot, died December 26, 1797, aged 70. 
William, prince, son of Henry I. lost in his passage from Nor-: 

mandy, 1120. 
Williams, sir Charles Hanbury, English historian and poet, died 

1759. 
Wilson, Arthur, the historian, born 1596, died 1652. 
Wolfe, general, killed before Quebec, September 13, 1769, aged 

33. 
Wolsey, minister to Henry VHI. 1513, died November 18j 

1 530, aged 59. 
Woollet, William, the engraver, died May 23, 1785, aged 50. 
Wycherly, William, born 1640, died January 1, 1715-16. 
Wykeham, William of, eminent English prelate, bishop of Win- 
chester, died 1 404. 
¥^ung, Dr. Edward, died 1765, aged 81. 



APPENDIX. 



493 



III. 
BATTLES IN ENGLISH HISTORY. 



Shropshire, when Caractacus 
was taken prisoner, 51 after 
Christ. 

Stamford, in Lincolnshire, the 
first between the Britons and 
Saxons, in 449. 

Hellston, in Cornwall, and in 
the Isle of Shepey, between 
Eg-bert and the Danes, })34. 

The Isle of Thanet, where the 
English were defeated, and 
the Danes settled, 854. 



Durham, when David king of 
Scotland was taken prisoner, 
Oct. 17, 1346. 

Nevil's Cross, in Durham, 1347- 

Poictiers, when the king- of 
France and his son were taken 
prisoners, Sept. 19, 1356. 

Otterborn, between Hotspur and 
earl Doug-las, July 31, 1388. 

Shrewsbury, July 22, 1403. 

Monmouth, March 11, and May 
II, 1405. 



Assenden, where the DanesjAg-incourt, Oct. 25, 1415. 

were defeated by Alfred andlBeauge, where the duke of Cla- 
Ethelred, 871. rence and 1500 English were 

Wilton, where the English were} killed, April 3, 1421 . 
defeated by the Danes, 872. [Patay, under Joan of Arc, June 
ury. Between Edward the 10, 1429. 



Bury, — 

Elder, and his cousin Ethel-! 

wald, 905. 
Maiden, between Edward and 

the Danes, 918. 
Stamford, between Edward, the 

Danes, and Scots, 923. 
Widendane, between Athelstan, 

the Irish, and Scots, 938. 
\shden, between Canute and 

Edmund, 1016. 
Battle-bridge, between Harold 

II. and Harfinger, Sept. 25, 

1066. 
Hastings, where king Haroldi Stoke, June 6, 1487. 



St. Alban's, May 22, 1455. 
Bloreheath, Sept. 22, 1459. 
Northampton, July 19, 1460; 
Wakefield, Dec. 31, 1460. 
Towton, March 29, 1461. 
St. Alban's, J461. 
Mortimer's Cross, 1461. 
Hexham, May 15, 1463. 
Banbury, July 26, 1469. 
Stamford, March 13, 1470. 
Barnet, April 14, 1471. 
Tewkesbury, May 4, 1471. 
Bosworth, Aug. 22, 1485. 



was slain, Oct. 14, 1066. 
Alnwick, 1092. 
Northallerton, Aug. 22, 1138. 
Alnwick, 1 174. 
Ascalon, Sept. 16, 1191. 
Lincoln, May 19, 1217. 
Lewes, May 14, 1264. 
Evesham.. Aug. 5, 1265. 
Dunbar, April 27, 1296. 
Falkirk, July 22, 1298. 
Bannockburn, June 25, 1314; 

when the English were de 

feated. 
Halidon-hill, near Berwick, 

when 20,200 of the Scots were 

slain, July 29, 1333. 
'Ci-essy, Aug. 26, 1346. 



Blackheath, June 22, 1497. 
Flodden, Sept. 9, 1513, when 

James IV. was killed. 
Solway, Nov. 24, 1542. 
Hopton-heath, March 19, 1G42. 
Worcester, Sept. 23, 1642. 
Edgehill, Oct. 23, 1642. 
Brentford, in 1642. 
Barham-moor, March 29, 1643. 
Lansdown, July 5, 1643. 
Round-away-down, July 13> 

1643. 
Newbury, Sept. 20, 1643. 
Alresford, ]March 29, 1644. 
Cropedy-bridge, June 6, 1644v 
Marston-moor, July 2, 1644, 
Newark, in 1644. 



494 



APPENDIX. 



Newbury, Oct. 27, 1644, 
Naseby, June, 1645. 
Alford, Julys, 1645. 
Kingston, in Surrey, 1647. 
Worcester, Sept. 3, 1651. 
Sedgemoor, Aug-. 6, 1685. 
Bothwell-bridge, June 22, 1651. 
Boyne, in Ireland, July 1, 1690. 
Fleurus, July 12, 1690. 
Blenheim, Aug. 2, 1704. 
Tirlemont, 1705. 
families, Whitsunday, 1706. 
Almanza, in Spain, 1707. 
Oudenard, June 30, 1708. 
Malplaquet, Sept. 11, 1709. 
Almanza, July 16, 1710. 
Denain, in 1712. ^ 
Preston, Nov. 12. 1715. 
Durablain, Nov. 13, 1715. 
Detting-en, June 15, 1743. 
Fontenoy, April 30, 1745. 
Preston-Pans, Sept. 21, 1745. 
Falkirk, Jan 17, 1746. 
Roucoux, April 12, 1746. 
Culloden, April 17, 1746. 
Fort du Quesne, July 9, 1 755. 
Lake St. George, Sept. 8. 1755. 
Calcutta, June, 1756, and in 

1759. 
Plassey, Feb. 5, 1757. 
Minden, Aug. 1759. 
Niagara, July 24, 1759. 
Quebec, Sept. 15, 1759. 
Lexington^ near Boston^, April 

19, 1775. 
Bunkers-hill, June 27, 1775. 
Long-Island, Aug. 27, 1776. 
White Plains, Nov. 30, 1776. 
Brandy- Wine Creek, Sept. 13 

1777. 
-Saratoga, Oct. 7, 1777. 
Germantown, Oct. 14, 1777. 
Rhode Island, Oct. 14, 1778. 
Camden, Aug. 16, 1780. 
Guildford, March 16, 1781. 
York Town, Oct. 29, 1781. 
Seringapatam, 1791. 
Tournay, May 8, 1793. 
Velenciennes^ May 23, 1793. 
Cambray, Aug. 9, 1793. 
Lincelles, Aug. 18, 1793. 
Dunjiirk, Sept. 7, 1793. 



Quesnoy, Sept. 7, 1793.- 

Toulon, Oct. 1, 1793. 

Cateau, March 28, 1794. 

Landrecy, April 24, 1794. 

Cateau, April 26, 1794. 

Ostend, May5, 1794. 

Tournay, May 18, 1794. 

Maestricht, Sept. 18, 1794. 

Nimeguen, Nov. 4, 1794. 

Quiberon, July 21, 1795. 

Kilcullen, Ireland, May 22. 
1798. 

Naas, May 23, 1798, at Stratford 
upon Slaney ; at Backestown, 
May 25 ; at Dunleven, May 
25 ; at Taragh, May 26 ; at 
Carlow, May 27; at Monas- 
terevan, the same day ; at Kil- 
dare, May 28 ; at Ballacanoe 
and at Newtonbury, June 1 ; 
at New Ross, June 5 ; at An- 
trim the same day ; at Ack- 
low, June 9 ; at Ballynahinch, 
June 13 ; at Ovidstown, June 
19 ; at Ballynarush, June 20. 

Seringapatam, May 4, 1792. 

Maida, July 6, 1806. 

Vimiera, Aug. 21 1808. 

Corunna, Jan. 16, 1809. 

Oporto, May 11, 1809. 

Talavera de la Reyna, July 27, 
1809. 

Buzaco, Sept. 27, 1810. 

Barossa, March 5, 1811. 

Albuera, May 16, 1811. 

Buenos Ayres and Monte Video, 
May 18, 1811. 

Ciudad Rodrigo, Sept. 25, 1811. 

Salamanca, July 22, 1812. 

Fort George, on the Niagara-, 
May 27, 1813. 

Burlington Heights, June 6, 
1813. 

Vittoria, June 21, 1813. 

Pyrenees, July 28, 1813. 

St. Jean de Luz, Nov. 10, 18l3. 

Black-rock, Dec. 30, 1813. 

Toulouse, April 10, 1814. 

Chippeway, July 5, 1814. 

Baltimore, Sept. 12, 1814; 

Ligny, June 16, 1815. 

Waterloo, June 18, 181 pi 



APPENDIX. 



495 



IV. 
SEA-FIGHTS, since the Spanish At^nada. 



French fleet destroyed by sir 
George Byng, July 31, 1718, 
Off Toulon, Feb. 9, 1744. 
Off Cape Finisterre, when the 
French fleet was taken by 
admiral Anson, May 3, 1747. 
Off Ushant, when admiral 
Hawke took seven men of war 
of the French, Oct. 14, 1747. 
Off Belleisle, when he took 14 
sail of victuallers, July 14, 
1756. 
French beaten off Cape Lag'os, 
by admiral Boscawen, Aug. 
18, 1759. • 
Off Quiberon Bay, when Hawke 
defeated the French, Nov. 20, 
175^2. 
Off Ushant, a drawn battle, be- 
tween Keppel and Dorvilliers, 
July 1 7, 1 778. 
Near Cape St. Vincent, be- 
tween admiral Rodney and 
admiral Don Lagara, when 
the latter was defeated and ta- 
ken prisoner, Jan. 8, 1780. 
Near Cadiz, when admiral Rod- 
ney defeated the Spaniards, 
Jan. 16, 1780. 
Dog-ger Bank, between admiral 
Parker and the Dutch, Au- 
gust 5, 1781. 
the Duke t)f York, May 28, When admiral Rodney defeated 
1672. i the French going to attack 

Offbeachy-head, when the Eng-' Jamaica, and took five ships 
lish and Dutch were defeated of the line, and admiral count 
by the French, Jun^SO, 1690. de Grasse, April 12, 1782. 
Off La Hogue, when tne French The same day admiral Hughes 
fleet was entirely defeated, destroyed the fleet of France, 
and 21 large men of war de-l under admiral Suffrein, in the 
stroyed. May 19, 1692. I East Indies. 

The Vigo fleet taken by the Lord Howe totally defeated thr 
English and Dutch, Oct. 12,{ French fleet, took six ships ot 



Between the English fleet and 
the Spanish armada, 1588. 

In the Downs, with the Dutch, 
June 16, 1652. 

Again, Sept. 28, Oct. 28, Nov. 
29, 1652. 

Off Portsmouth, when admiral 
Blake took 1 1 Dutch men of 
war, and 30 merchant ships, 
Feb. 10, 1653. 

Off the North Foreland, when 
the Dutch lost 20 men of war, 
June 2, 1653. 

On the coast of Holland, when 
they lost 30 men of war, and 
admiral Tromp was killed, 
July 29, 1653. 

At the Canaries, when Blake 
destroyed the galleons, April, 
1657. 

Off Harwich, when 18 capital 
Dutch ships were taken, and 
14 destroyed, June 3, 1665. 

The earl of Sandwich took 12 
men of war and two East-In- 
dia ships, Sept. 4, 1665. 

Again, when the English lost 
nine and the Dutch 1 5 ships, 
June 4, 1666. 

At Southwold-bay, when the 
earl of Sandwich was blown 
up, and the Dutch defeated by 



1702. 
Between the French and Ensr- 

lish, Aug. 24, 1704 
At Gibraltar, when the French 

lost 5 men of war, November 

5, 1704 



war, and sunk several, June 
I, 1794. 
The French fleet defeated, and 
two ships of war taken, bv 
admiral Hotham, March 14', 
1795. 



4% 



HISTORY OF ENGLANt*. 



The Dutch fleet in the Texel 
surrendered to admiral Mit- 
chell, on his taking the Held' 
er,Aug. 29, 1799. 

The Danish fleet, of 28 sail, ta- 
ken or destroyed by lord Nel- 



I'he French fleet defeated by 
lord Bridport, June 25, 1795, 
and three ships of war taken, 
near L'Orient. 

The Dutch fleet under admiral 
Lucas, in Saldanna Bay, Af- 
rica, consisting of five men of i son off Copenhagen, April 2< 
war and several frigates, sur- 1801. 
rendered Aug. 19, 1796. Between the French and Eng- 

The Spanish fleet defeated by| lish, in the Bay of Gibraltar : 
sir J. Jarvis, and four line of Hannibal, of 74 guns, lost, Ju- 
battle ships taken, Feb. 14, ly 5, 1801. 
1797. Sound, between Denmark and 

The Dutch fleet was defeated byj Sweden, passed by the Eng- 
admiral Duncan, on the coasti lish fleet, when Copenhagen 
of Holland, where their two was bombarded, April 2, 1801. 
admirals and 15 ships of war'French and Spanish fleets total- 
were taken or destroyed, Oct. i ly defeated off Cape Trafal- 
11,1797. ■ I gar, lord Nelson killed in the 

The French fleet of 17 ships of' action, Oct. 21, 1805. 
war, totally defeated, and French fleet taken by sir R. 
nine of them taken, by sir Strachan, Nov. 4. 1805. 
Horatio Nelson, Aug. 1, 1798, French fleet defeated in the 



near the Nile, in Egypt 
The French off the coast of 
Ireland, consisting of 9 ships 
by sir J. B. Warren, Oct. 12 
J 783, when he took five. 



West Indies, by sir T. Duck- 
worth, Feb. 6, 1806. 



DATES OF IMPROVEMENTS AND INVENTIONS. 

AiR-BALLooNs introduced into England, and Mr. Lunardi as- 
cended from Moorfields, Sept. 15, 1784; Blanchard and Dr. 
Jeffries went from Dover to Calais, Jan. 7, 1785t 

Apricots first planted in England, 1540. 

Archery introduced into England, before 440. 

Artichokes first planted in England, 1487. 

Asparagus first produced in England, 160^ 

Baize manufacture first introduced into England at Colchester, 
1608. 

Beer. — Ale invented, 1404, B. C. ; ale-booths set up in Eng- 
land, 728, and laws passed for their regulation. — Beer first in- 
troduced into England, 1492 ; in Scotland, as early as 1482. 
By the statute of James I. one full quart of the best beer or 
ale was to be sold for one penny, and two quarts of small beer 
for one penny. In 1822 the duties on beer were 2,786,319/. 
and on malt, 5,013.697/. 

Bells invented hj Paulinus, bishop of Nola, in Campagnia^ 
about 400. The first tuneable set in England were hung up 
in Groyland abbey, in Lincolnshire, 960 ; baptised in church- 
es, 1030. 



APPENDIX. 



497 



T^ible first translated into the Saxon language, 939 ; into the 
English language, by Tindal and Coverdale, 1534 ; first trans- 
lation by the king's authority, 1536. 

Blankets first made in England, 1340. 

Books ; a very large estate given for one on cosmography, by 
king Alfred ; were sold from 10/. to 30/. a piece, about 1400. 

Bows and arrows introduced, 1066. 

Bread first made with yeast about 1650. In the year 1754 the 
quartern loaf was sold for 4d. ; three years afterwards, in the 
year 1757, it rose to 10c?., and in March, 1800, to I*. 5d., when 
new bread was forbidden, under the penalty of 55. per loaf, if 
the baker sold it until 24 hours old. 

Bridge, the first stone one, in England, at Bow, near Stratford, 
1087. 

Buckles invented about 1680. 

Calicos first made in Lancashire, in 1772. 

€andles, tallow, so great a luxury, that splinters of wood were 
used for lights ; first began to be used, 1290. No idea of wax 
candles, 1300. 

Cannon invented, 1330; firstusedbytheEnglish,1346 ; first used 
in England, 1445; first madfe of iron in England, 1547; of 
brass, 1635. 

Cauliflowers first planted in England, 1703. 

Celery first introduced in 1704. 

Chairs, sedan, first used in London, 1634. 

Cherry-trees first planted in Britain, 100 before Christ ; brought 
from Flanders and planted in Kent, 1540. 

Chimneys first introduced into buildings in England, 1200, only 
in the kitchen, or large hall ; smoky, where the family sat 
round a large stove, the funnel of which passed through the 
ceiling, 1:100. 

China made in England, at Chelsea, in 1752 ; at Bow, in 1758 : 
and in several parts of England, in 1760 ; by Mr. Wedgwood 
1762. 

Chocolate introduced into Europe, from Mexico, in 1520. 

Cloth, coarse woollen, introduced into England, 1191 ; first made 
at Kendal, 1390; medleys first made, J 614. 

Coaches first used in England, 1580; an act passed to prevent 
men riding in coaches, as effeminate, in 1601 ; began to be 
common in London, 1605. 

Coals discovered near Newcastle, 1234 ; first dug at Newcastle 
by a charter granted the town by Henry III. ; first used, 1280 ; 
diers, brewers, &c. in the reign of Edward I. began to use 
sea-coal for fire, in 135(», and he published a proclamation 
against it, 1398, as a public nuisance. Imported from New- 
castle to London in 1350 ; in general use in London, 1400. 

Coffee first brought into England, in 1641. 

Coffee-trees were conveyed from Mocha to Holland in 1616^ 
and carried to the West Indies in the year 1726 ; first cultiva- 
ted at Surinam by the Dutch, 1718 ; its culture encouraged in 
the plantations, 1 732. 

Coin first made round in England, in 1101 ; silver halfpence aijti 



498 APPENDIX. 

farthings were coined in the reign of John, and pence the 
largest current coin ; gold' first coined in England, 1087 » 
copper money used only in Scotland and Ireland, 1399 ; gold 
coined in England, 1345 ; groats and half-groats the largest 
silver coin in England, 1531 ; in 1347, a pound of silver was 
coined into 22 shillings, and in 1352, a pound was coined into 
25 shillings ; in 1414, they were increased to thirty shillings ; 
and in 1500, a pound of silver was coined into 40 shillings. In 
1530 they were extended to 62, which is the same now ; the 
money in Scotland, till now the same as in England, began to 
be debased, 1354; gold first coined in Venice, 1346 ; shillings 
first coined in England, 1068 ; crowns and half-crowns first 
coined, 1551 ; copper money introduced into France by Hen- 
vy III. 1580 ; the first legal copper coin introduced, which put 
an end to private leaden tokens, universally practised, espe« 
cially in London, 1609; copper money introduced into Eng- 
land by James I. 1620; milling coin introduced, 1662; half- 
pence and farthings first coined by government, Aug. 16, 
1672; guineas were first coined, 1673; silver coinage, 1696 ; 
broad pieces of gold called in by government, and coined into 
guineas, 1732; five-shillings and three-penny pieces in gold 
were issued in 1716 and 1761. Sovereigns were first coined in 
1820. 

Cow-pox, inoculation by, as a security against small-pox, intro" 
duced by Dr. Jenner, 1800. 

Creed, Lord's prayer, and ten commandments, first translate/^ 
into the Saxon tongue, 746. 

Currants first planted in England, 1533. 

Cider, called wine, made in England, 1284. - 

Distaff spinning first introduced into England, 1505. 

England, so named by Egbert, 829 ; first divided into counties; 
tithings, and hundreds, 890 ; the first geogrophical map of it 
1520. 

F-airs and markets first instituted in England by Alfred about 886. 
The first fairs took their rise from wakes ; when the number 
of people then assembled brought together a variety of %t^>- 
ders annually on these days. From these holidays they were 
calledferice, or fairs. 

Fans, muffs, masks, and false hair, brought into England from 
France, 1572. 

Figures in arithmetic introduced into England, in 1454. 
.Fruits and flowers, sundry sorts before unknown, brought into 
England in the reigns of Henry VII. and VIII. from about 
1500 to 1578, as the musk and damask roses, and tulips ; sev- 
eral sorts of plum-trees and currant-plants. 

Gardening introduced into England from the Netherlandsv 
from whence vegetables were imported, till 1509 ; musk meh- 
sns and apricots cultivated in England ; the pale goosebeny, 
with salads, garden-roots, cabbages, &;c. brought from Flan- 
ders, and hops from Artois, 1520 ; the damask rose brosuglU 
here by Dr. Li nacre, physician to Henry VIII.; pippins 
brought to England by Leonard Mascal, of Plum^tea'd^ ih 



APPENDIX. 499 

Sussex, 1525; currants, or Corinthian grapes, first planted in 
England, 1555 ; brought from the Isle of Zant, belonging to 
Venice ; the musk-rose, and several sorts of plums, from Ita- 
ly, by lord Cromwell ; apricots brought here by Henry VI11.'& 
gardener : tamarisk plant from Germany, by archbishop 
Grindal ; at and about Norwich the Flemings first planted 
flowers unknown in England, as gilly flowers, carnations, the 
Provence rose, &c. 1567 ; woad, originally from Thoulouse, 
in France ; tulip roots first brought into England from Vienna, 
1578; also beans, peas, and salads, now in common use, 1660. 

Gas use of, introduced in London for lighting streets, 1814. 

Glass introduced into England by Benedict, a monk, 674 ; glass- 
windows began to be used in private houses in England, 1180: 
glass first made in England into bottles and vessels, 1557; the 
first plate glass for looking-glasses and coach windows made at 
Lambeth, 1673 ; in Lancashire, 1773 ; window-glass first made 
in England, 1557. 

Grapes brought to England, and planted first in 1552. 

Gunpowder first made in England, 1418. 

Hats first made in London, 1510. 

Hemp and flax first planted in England, 1533. 

Heraldry had its rise^ 1 lOU. 

Hops, first used in malt liquors in England, 1525. 

Horse-shoes introduced into general use in 800 ; first made df 
iron 481. 

Inoculation first tried on criminals, 1721. 

Iron first cast in England, 1544. 

Knives first made in England, 1563. 

Lamp for preventing explosion by fire-damp in coal-mines, in- 
vented in 1815. 

Lanterns invented by king Alfred, 890. 

Leaden pipes for conveying water invented, 1236. 

Life-boats invented, 1802. 

Linen first made in England, 1253. Table linen very scarce in 
England, 1386. 

Lithograpic printing brought into England, 1801. 

Magic lantern invented by Roger Bacon, 1252. 

Magnifying glasses invented by Roger Bacon, 1260. 

Mulberry trees first planted in England, 1609. 

Muslins first manufactured in England, in 1781. 

Navigable canal, the first in England, 1134. 

Navy of England, at the time of the Spanish Armada, was 
only 28 vessels, none larger than frigates. James I. increased 
10 ships of 1400 tons, of 64 guns, the largest then ever built. 
The list of the royal Diavy of England wasj in the years 1808 

and 1817 

King's ships in ordinary 176 370 

in commission - - - . 627 124 

building at different places - - 66 36 

Total, 869 530 

Needles first made in England, 1545. 

43 



500 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

Newspapers. — First published in Eng-land, by order of queen 
Elizabeth, and was entitled the Eng'lish Mercury, one of 
which is remaining in the British Museum, dated July 28, 
1588. 

A private newspaper, called the Weekly Courant, was printed in 
London, in 1622. 

A newspaper was printed by Robert Barker, at Newcastle, in 
1639. — The Gazette was first published at Oxford, Aug. 22, 
1642. 

After the revolution, the first daily paper was called the Orange 
InteUigencer, and from that to 1662, there were 26 newspa- 
pers. 

In 1709, there were 18 weekly and one daily paper, the London 
Courant. 

In ! 795, there were 38 published in London, 72 in the country, 
13 in Scotland, and 35 in Ireland ; in all, 158 papers. 

In 1809, there were 63 published in London, 93 in the country, 
24 in ^?cotland, and 37 in Ireland ; making a total of 217 news- 
papers in the United Kingdom. 

New-style introduced into England, 1752. 

Paper, the manufacture of, introduced into England at Dartford. 
in Kent, 1588 ; scarcely any but brown paper made in Eng- 
land till 1690 ; white paper first made in England, 1690. 

Parish registers first introduced by lord Cromwell's order, 1538. 

Park, the first in England, made by Henry I. at Woodstock, 
1123. 

Penny-post set up in London and suburbs, by one Murray, an 
upholsterer, 1681. 

Pins were first used in England by Catharine Howard, queen of 
Henry VIII. 

Port-holes in ships of war introduced, 1545. 

Posts, regular, established between London and most towns of 
England, Scotland, Ireland, &c., 1635. 

Post-horses and stages established, 1483. 

Post-offices first established in England, 1581 ; and made general 
in England, 1656 ; and, in Scotland, 1695. Increased as fol- 
lows : 
1644 it yielded £5,000 1 1764 it yielded £432,048 

1664 -=^1.900 I 1791 481,880 

1697 . 90,505 | 1807 -= — - 1,670,423 

1714 145,227 | 1815 2,349,519 

1744 235,495 | 1822 1,958,806 

The first mail conveyed by stage-coaches began Aug. 2, 1785. 

Potatoes first brought to England from America, by Hawkins, 
in 1563 ; introduced into Ireland by sir Walter Raleigh, in 
1586. 

Printing brought into England by William Caxton, a mercer 
of London, 1471, who had a press in Westminster abbey til 
1494. 

Roads in England first repaired by act of Parliament, 1524. 

Sail-cloth first made in England, 1590. 

Saltpetre first made in England, 1625. 



APPENDIX. •SOI 

Scenes first introduced into theatres, 1533. 

Shillings first coined in England, 1505. 

Ship.— The first double-decked one built in England, was of 
1000 tons burden, by order of Henry VII., 1509 ; it was 
called the Great Harry, and cost 14,00uL ; before this, 24-gun 
ships were the largest in our navy, and these had no port-holes, 
the guns being on the upper decks only. 

Shoes, of the present fashion, first worn in England, 1633. 

Side-saddles first used in England, 13B0. 

Silk manufactured in England, 1604. First worn by the Eng- 
lish clergy, 1534. — Broad-silk manufacture from raw silk in- 
troduced into England. 1620 — Lombe's famous silk-throwing 
machine erected at Derby, 1719. 

Soap first made at London and Bristol, 1524. 

Steam-boat established between Norwich and Yarmouth, Nov. 
1813. — Steam-boat capable of conveying 3000 persons, com- 
menced its passage between Limehouse and Gravesend, Feb. 
1815. 

Stereotype printing invented by William Ged, a goldsmith of 
Ddinburgh, 1735. 

Stirrups first used in the sixth century- 
Stone buildings first introduced into England, 674. 

Sunday Schools first established in Yorkshire, 1784 ; became 
general in England and Scotland, in 1789. 

Tea, coffee, and chocolate, first mentioned in the statute books, 
1660. 

Thread first made at Paisley, in 1722. 

Tiles first used in England, 1246. 

Tobacco first brought into England, 1583. 

Towers high, first erected to churches, in 1000. 

Turkeys came into England, 1523. 

Watches first brought to England from Germany, 1577. 

Water first conveyed to London, by leaden pipes, 1237. 

Weavers, two, from Brabant, settled at York, 1331. 

Weavers, diers. cloth-drapers, linen-makers, silk-throwers, &c. 
Flemish, settled at Canterbury, Norwich, Sandwich, Colches- 
ter, Maidstone, Southampton, &:c. on account of the duke of 
Alva's persecution, 1567. 

Weights and measures fixed to a standard in England in 1257. 

Wine first made in England, 1140. 

Woollen-cloth first made in England in 1331 ; medley cloths first 
made, 1614 ; first died and dressed in England, in 1611. 

Workers, cloth, 70 families of, from the Netherlands, settled in 
England, by Edward III.'s invitation, 1330. 



50£ 



HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 



VI 
DISCOVERIES AND SETTLING OF BRITISH COLO- 
NIES. 



Ambrica, North, first discover- 
ed by Sebastian Cabot, 1497 ; 
settled, in 1610. 

Anguilla, in the Carribees, first 
planted, 1650. 

Antigua settled, 1632. 

Baffin's Bay discovered, 1622. 

Bahama isles taken possession 
of, 1718. 

Barbadoes discovered and plant 
ed, 1614. 

Barbuda planted, 1628. 

Beng-al conquered, 1758. 

Bermuda isles settled, 1612. 



Christopher's, St. settled, 1626. 

Georgia erected, 1739. 

Heligoland taken, 1808. 

Helena, St. settled, 1651. 

Hudson's Bay discovered, 1607. 

Jamaica conquered, 1656. 

Maryland province planted, 
1633. 

^Montserrat planted by England, 

! 1632. 

Nevis planted by England, 1628. 

New-England planted, 1620. 

Newfoundland discovered, 1497, 
settled, 1614. 
Boston, in New-England, built, New-Jersey, in America, plant- 

1630. i ed, 1637. 

Botany Bay settlement, 1787 New- York settled, 1664. 
Caledonia, in America, settled, Nova Scotia settled, 1622. 

1699. iPennsylvania charta for plant- 

Canada taken by England, 1759. ing, 1680. 
Cape Breton taken and kept, Sierra Leone coast settled, 1790. 
1758. Surinam planted by England^, 

Cape of Good Hope taken, 1798.1 1640. 
Carolina planted, 1629. Tobago conquered, 1781. 

Ceylon taken, 1804. [Virginia, settlement of, 1636. 



V 



